Shinobi Love
by Starian NightZz
Summary: AU Fem Naru. When Whirlpool Kingdom was destroyed, the princess hid in an orphanage in the Fire Kingdom in hopes that her enemies wouldn't find her. Little did she expect to be recruited into the ninja Academy in Fire Kingdom. Full summary inside.
1. Konoha Academy

_Summary:_

_AU Fem Naru. When Whirlpool Kingdom was destroyed, the princess hid in an orphanage in the Fire Kingdom in hopes that her enemies wouldn't find her. Little did she expect to be recruited into the ninja Academy in Fire Country when the truth behind the attack comes to light years later._

This is a rewritten version of _Shinobi Love_ which I wrote sometime last year on my old account. I decided to rewrite it and go more into depth into Naruto's (or Shiki) childhood and how she and Itachi met and establish their friendship into the romantic relationship. Like the old story, this is an AU story and while there _are_ ninjas in this story, I'm making them more like guards of a royal family. The universe is set in a place with royal kingdoms. Save for the Uchiha brothers and Kakashi, the rest of the Naruto cast are shinobis or future shinobis in Fire Kingdom.

Also, as a side note, Shiki is female Naruto in this story and her name means 'energetic' in another language, not death soul. Also, bijuus don't exist in this story, which means that there are no Jinchuurikis in this story and the Jinchuurikis like Naruto (or Shiki), Gaara and Yugito doesn't have their demon marks in this story.

Please read and review!

**Disclaimer: **This story is inspirited by the PS2 games, Atelier Iris 3 and Mana Khemia. I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universe setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter One: Konoha Academy**

_It was the worst downpour ever known in Whirlpool Kingdom, and yet, it adds with the mood of the sole survivor from the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom. _

_The Whirlpool Kingdom which is the first kingdom ever to be founded also happens to be the most powerful, compared to the other five main kingdoms in the elemental kingdoms – Hi (Fire), Kaze (Wind), Rai (Lightning), Mizu (Water) and Iwa (Earth). And as such, Whirlpool Kingdom had many different customs and ways of running the kingdom, compared to the other kingdoms._

_The King and Queen of the Whirlpool Kingdom were loved and respected by all, especially their own people. The Queen was extremely kind hearted and made up a festival once a year for all the people in her kingdom to gather in the capital city of Whirlpool Kingdom where food was given out for free and the leftovers given to the poor of her kingdom._

_The Queen also made it a point to open the palace doors to the common folk of the Whirlpool Kingdom for her to listen to the worries and pleas of her people, no matter how small or insignificant it may be. Everyone loves their gentle queen, and they also loved their king who is as kind hearted as his beloved wife who usually rode around his kingdom on his horse, mingling about with the common folk._

_The king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom had a daughter as well – the princess and heiress to the throne of Whirlpool Kingdom and everyone in Whirlpool Kingdom love their princess as well. The princess was as kind hearted as she was beautiful, and even though the princess was barely five years old, already, betrothals from several neighbouring countries were already coming in by the dozen only to have it politely turned down or declined by the king and queen who explained quite patiently that they have no intention in forcing their daughter into an arranged marriage._

_The princess was a beauty with fiery red hair like her mother's hair with golden highlights in her hair, giving her a slightly unique look with beautiful cerulean blue eyes as blue as the sky like her father's. She was the kingdom's treasure and everyone loves her._

_But alas, peace didn't last long for the Whirlpool Kingdom._

_A week after the princess's fifth birthday when everyone in the kingdom were invited to the capital city to celebrate the birthday of the princess, several delegates and nobles from neighbouring countries were invited as well. And all those countries were firm allies with the Whirlpool Kingdom. The princess aka priestess from the Demon Kingdom came with her mother as well, Shion, who was the Whirlpool princess's closest friend as the two were close in age._

_And among those kingdoms was a kingdom that every kingdom was quite wary of: the Sound Kingdom. And for good reason as well. Their leader, or King, as one would like to put it, wasn't exactly someone whom they would like to be friends with, and not to mention that Oto had a long history of war, with them being the ones who had done the initiating._

_The king of Whirlpool Kingdom, Namikaze Minato was quite wary of the leader of Oto – Orochimaru – when the leaders of their individual kingdoms sat down for lunch whilst the heirs of the thrones of their individual kingdoms went to the royal garden to play with the royal guards keeping an eye on the princess, along with the children of their guests._

_Long story short, Orochimaru wanted the king of Whirlpool Kingdom to betroth his daughter to him, despite the leader of Oto being old enough to be the princess's father! Obviously, the king as well as the queen turned him down and the Oto leader was quite pissed off._

_Then, nearly a week later, Whirlpool Kingdom was attacked by soldiers and ninjas from the Oto Kingdom. It was a surprise attack and demons were included into said attack. The villages and towns of Whirlpool Kingdom were wiped out nearly immediately before focusing their attack on the capital city of Whirlpool, then the palace._

_Knowing that they were never going to get out alive, the king and queen entrusted their five year old daughter into the care in one of their most trusted subjects and told him to take their child to the Fire Kingdom and hide her somewhere that their enemies would never dream of finding her._

_The soldier did as he was told and hid the Princess in one of the local orphanages of the Fire Kingdom where the caretaker was an old friend of his, but did not tell his friend of the Princess's real identity and left to lure the pursuers after the Princess somewhere else._

_He was never heard of again._

_The neighbouring kingdoms were enraged at this unprovoked attack on Whirlpool, but did not wish to drag their own kingdoms into war against Oto, yet several kingdoms were wondering about the fate of the princess of the Whirlpool Kingdom. The king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom protected their daughter well. So much so that most people who weren't part of the royal family in their individual kingdoms did not know the princess's name, and those that do were sworn to secrecy as the Whirlpool Kingdom had many enemies._

_And the name of the missing princess of Whirlpool Kingdom was Namikaze Shiki._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Three years later; Fire Kingdom, Hope Orphanage:_

"With that, I shall look forward to welcoming them on the first day of school at the Academy at Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom," said Umino Iruka, gathering up his papers and leaving the office of the caretaker of Hope Orphanage.

The man was dressed in typical shinobi clothing that easily identified him as a high-ranking shinobi in the shinobi ranks of Fire Kingdom. He was dressed in a black coat which reaches down to his hips, the top three buttons left undone, revealing the black meshed shirt that he wore beneath and dark navy blue pants with black combat boots and a pair of fingerless gloves with metal guards on the back on his hands. The Fire Kingdom's shinobi emblem was also etched on the right arm sleeve of his coat done in white with an outline of dark blue – the very symbol of the Captain of the Royal Guard of Fire Palace – the shinobi responsible for the security for the Fire Palace in Konoha. The man had dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a scar across his nose, and yet, despite his high rank as one of the King and Queen's right hand men, the man had a gentle smile across his face as he looked at the caretaker of the orphanage before him.

"Well, it's true that they have to leave the orphanage once they turn sixteen, but why are you recruiting them for the ninja Academy in the capital city?" asked the caretaker. "I mean, they're your typical kids, not really showing any ninja abilities."

"One of our shinobis was here not too long ago, on a routine inspection check," said Iruka. "He saw those kids using ninja abilities and was pretty interested in them. The King himself was interested as well and told me specifically to come and recruit them for the Academy. The new school year will begin in a month's time."

"I see..." said the caretaker, nodding. "I shall miss them, but they can't stay here forever. Very well, I shall send them to Konoha in a month's time."

"Then I shall take my leave," said Iruka with a polite bow before leaving.

**

* * *

**_Cliff near seaside outside Hope Orphanage:_

The sun was setting and gulls were crying as they flew back to their respective homes and five kids could be seen huddled together on the cliff near the sea where the waves were crashing against the bottom of the cliff. The sun was slowly sinking down into the sea and the wind was getting stronger.

The five kids – all of them ranging around the age of eight years of age – were all extremely close and have been together ever since the day they came to the orphanage. One of them was a raven-haired girl with chocolate brown eyes, the second was a boy with dark red hair and sea foam green eyes, the third was a sandy blonde haired girl with her hair tied up in four pigtails, the fourth was a spiky brown haired boy with brown eyes and the last was a girl with fiery red hair with golden highlights in her hair.

Hope Orphanage was a pretty small orphanage and the only orphans currently in said orphanage were the five kids, which is the reason why the caretaker was reluctant to let them go as they were as good as the caretaker's own kids. But still, the caretaker wanted the best for them as well and allowing them to attend the ninja Academy at the Fire Kingdom's capital city and becoming ninjas – the official guards of the royal family of the Fire Kingdom is an honour that is granted to very few.

Not just anyone can become a ninja or enrolling into the ninja Academy as the King of Fire Kingdom had several scouts that sweep the kingdom for potential ninjas and recruit them for the Academy where they spend four years of education there, though there were some that graduate early or even attained captain rank the moment that they graduate.

"Konoha Academy, huh?" said Shisei Haku, the raven head, breaking the silence that had befallen them. She hugged her knees to her chest as she looked at the sunset. "I wonder what it's like?"

"I know we said that we wanted to leave the orphanage one day and go travelling all together as one, but this is too sudden," said Sabaku no Temari, the sandy blonde. "But never did I expect for a shinobi from the capital city to come for us."

"But a ninja..." said Sabaku no Gaara, the redhead with the dark hair and Temari's youngest brother. "We've only seen a few of those at the festivals in town that we've been to a few times. They seemed...well...strong and all, but scary at the same time as well."

"And to think that we are going to be one of them in a few years," said Sabaku no Kankuro, the brunette, Temari's second brother, drawing circles in the sand near him. "It's like a dream come true. Our dream...is to be together, no matter what we become in the future, don't we?"

"That's true," said Namikaze Shiki, the one with the fiery red hair. "But will we be able to blend in? Will we be able to make other friends? Or will we be considered outcasts?"

"You worry too much, Shiki!" said Haku, her best friend, laughing. "It's not like the others going to the ninja Academy are from noble families! You know as well as I do that noble families would never send their kids to be ninjas who are the guards of the royal family and do missions for the good of the kingdom."

"That's true."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_A month later; Fire Kingdom, Konoha City, Capital City of Fire Kingdom:_

"So this is the capital city, huh?" mused Temari, looking at the busy marketplace of Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom.

The capital city was a busy place and the marketplace had several vendors shouting their wares and several kids playing catch about in the marketplace. Several shinobis could be seen perched on the high walls around the capital city as well, while other shinobis were patrolling the town, with two shinobis on guard at the gates of Konoha. The palace could just be seen leading up the steps towards the east side of the town, being made out of pure white marble and towards the east, two large buildings stood side-by-side. One was relatively larger than the other, with Fire Kingdom's shinobi emblem visible above the gigantic double oak doors and shinobis could be seen going in and out of the building. The building next to it seemed to be the Academy as several kids could be seen going in, dressed in the uniform that the five were currently wearing.

The girl's uniform of the ninja Academy was a dark navy blue with a short red tie around the collar which is cut in a design like the ones that you see on sailor uniforms. Fire Kingdom's shinobi emblem was etched on the right side of the uniform, with a black skirt, with a pair of black shorts worn beneath the skirt and ankle high black boots. The boy's uniform was in the same colour, though the design differs a little.

"Here for the Academy?" smiled one of the shinobi guards at the gate as he looked at the identification passes and the papers of the five kids. "Welcome to Konoha City."

**

* * *

**_Two hours later:_

"...and so, this is how this Academy was founded." The headmaster of the ninja Academy in Konoha finished his speech at the orientation for the freshmen, who were all currently falling asleep on their feet. Sarutobi Hizuren used to be an excellent ninja for the former king, but as he's currently too old to go on missions, the present king decided to make the former Captain of the Royal Guard the headmaster of the ninja Academy instead. Unfortunately, while the man used to be a good ninja to promising ninjas in the past, he didn't realise that his way of relating history is a sure way to send anyone straight to sleep. The king even contemplated once on having Sarutobi Hizuren telling the history of Fire Kingdom to ninjas as sleep deprivation training.

Shiki elbowed Kankuro in the side and the brown haired boy winced as he rubbed his ribs and blinked as there was a round of applause. "Huh? It's over already?"

Temari sighed at her brother. "Yes, it's over already, so wake up already, for crying out loud!"

The head teacher of the school coughed loudly and Temari and Kankuro blinked before turning towards the front to see EVERYONE staring at them. The head teacher seemed to be a high ranking ninja like Umino Iruka who had came to recruit them, judging by his clothing, and the kids had only listened to the introductions of the teachers and staff of the Academy before they started drifting off to sleep to learn that the head teacher, Touji Mizuki, was the vice-captain of the Royal Guard, which puts him behind Umino Iruka in rank.

"Glad to see that we've gotten your attention," said Mizuki sarcastically and everyone laughed. The teacher grinned. "Right, I'm sorry to make you sit through a two hour long speech by our headmaster, but it's over now. We'll now begin the orientation tour of the Academy and lessons will begin for real on Monday. I'll be your homeroom teacher. The dorm listing of the individual dorms will be pasted on the notice-board outside the teachers' lounge. It'll be four to a dorm room, and once you've seen which dorm that you're in and unpack your things, please meet back here in an hour's time." Mizuki smiled. "Dismissed!"

**

* * *

**"Let's see..." mused Temari, standing on tip-toe to look over the heads of all those currently standing in front of the notice-board that Mizuki had mentioned and soon, Temari found the names of herself and her friends on one of the lists under the girls' dormitory section. "Shiki, you're with me and Haku, along with another girl named Hyuuga Hinata."

"Who's that?" asked Haku with a blink only to hear a timid voice speaking from behind them just then.

"A-Ano..."

Haku, Shiki and Temari blinked and turned to see a timid-looking girl with dark blue hair and lavender coloured eyes standing behind them with a pink-haired girl with a slightly large forehead, a creamy blonde haired girl as well as a brunette with her hair done up in two buns standing behind them.

"I-I-I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata," said the girl timidly. "I'm your d-d-dorm mate. N-Nice to meet you."

Shiki blinked. What's with the stutter? They aren't this scary, are they?

The pink haired girl laughed. "Hinata, you're confusing them," she said kindly just as a group of boys came up to the notice-board just as the previous group left, having seen their dorm listings. "I'm Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She introduced herself. "On my right is Yamanaka Ino." The blonde gave them a cheery grin. "And on my left is Kinzoku Tenten." The brunette girl grinned, giving them a wave. "Don't worry about Hinata. She's like this when it comes to meeting new people. So you're Hinata's dorm mates?" All three girls nodded. "What are your names? Sorry if I didn't pay attention to the introductions earlier." She said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

"Don't worry, we didn't either," said Haku sheepishly which made all the other girls laughed, even Hinata. "I think we practically slept through the entire orientation until Mizuki-sensei took the stand. I'm Shisei Haku. This is Sabaku no Temari." Temari gave them a nod, one which was fully returned. "And this is Namikaze Shiki." Shiki gave them a small smile.

"We're in dorm five with another girl named Isaribi," said Ino. "Our dorm is next to yours. Oi, Kiba!" She called to a brown-haired boy with a cheeky grin and red triangles painted upside down on his cheeks currently chatting with a few boys. "Whose dorm are you in?"

The group of boys from earlier came up to the girls and Sakura did the introductions. Hyuuga Neji, Hinata's cousin was in the group and he seemed awfully protective of Hinata. Inuzuka Kiba, the boy from earlier was in that group, along with a lazy looking boy with a pineapple hairdo named Nara Shikamaru and his slightly large friend, Akimichi Chouji. A quiet boy named Aburame Shino was also with them, along with a boy named Rock Lee, though Sakura had tried to hide behind Ino when she caught sight of him which confused Shiki, Haku and Temari until Tenten had explained that Lee had the biggest crush on Sakura which explains why the girl tried to hide from him.

"I'm in a dorm with Shikamaru and Chouji, along with another boy named Kankuro," explained Kiba. "We're in dorm sixteen. Neji's with Lee and Shino, along with another guy named Gaara. They're in dorm fifteen."

"Those two are my brothers," said Temari sheepishly and the boys blinked and turned towards her. "They...have their odd quirks, but they're not really bad people. This is our first time out of our village, so they tend to be a little...tense up."

"Don't worry about it," said Kiba with a grin. "If we can accept Shino and Neji here, your brothers should have no problem with befriending us."

Shiki blinked at the mention of the word 'friend'. Kiba was looking left and right at this point in time. "Where are they, by the way?"

Temari sighed, spotting her brothers huddled by the notice-board. "Over there," she said with a sigh. "The redhead is Gaara and the other is Kankuro."

Sakura smiled. "Right, you boys get acquainted with them whilst we get settled into our dorms with our new friends. We'll meet back at the place where we had that orientation in an hour's time."

"Okay."

**

* * *

**_Dorm four:_

"Wow," said Haku with wonder, looking at their dorm. "This is bigger than our room back in the orphanage."

Temari and Shiki have to agree with Haku. The dorm room itself was pretty large, with a round polished wooden table set in the middle with four chairs around it for study purposes. Two beds – the type which one has to climb a ladder to get to the top bed – were placed against the wall on one side of the room, with the other two on another side of the room. There were also two dressers for their clothes and an allotted bathroom in their dorm room. A bookcase half-filled with books were also in a corner of the dorm.

Each member of the dorm was also given a key which they were told to keep it on themselves at all times, and if the key ever went missing, they were told to make an immediate report. The dorm rules were pretty simple: keep the place clean and tidy at all times which wasn't too difficult for the girls and the four girls had decided to take turns at cleaning their dorm twice per week to keep it clean. Lights out will be after eleven, and no student – freshman, sophomore or senior – will be allowed out after that.

The Academy did a point system for all students in the Academy which is by dorm room. Each dorm was given fifty points and points will be deducted or added, according to their performances and grades in class. At the end of the year, the dorm with the highest points – one dorm from the boys' dorm and one from the girls' dorm – will be given a prize.

Hinata smiled. The girl had lost her stutter gradually as she started to warm up to them. "Fire Kingdom looks after their shinobis," she explained. "This room is nothing compared to what shinobis are issued in the residential district."

"I see..." said Shiki. "But we better hurry or we'll be late for the orientation tour."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_That Night:_

"I'm tired!" said Temari with a sigh, plopping herself down on Shiki's bed. The girl herself was lying on her stomach, reading a novel of some kind. Shiki had taken the bottom bed whilst Temari had taken the top one. Hinata had taken the lower bed on the other side whilst Haku had taken the top one.

The tour had lasted the whole day as the Academy was pretty large. There were the classrooms and Mizuki had explained that being a ninja is not as easy as throwing a few kunais and shurikens and throwing jutsus. There were other things to be learned, such as political learning in which the students have to learn about politics to help them in missions as a ninja in the future, as well as the history of all the other kingdoms, not only their own kingdom. Cookery class, kenjutsu class, jutsu class, psychological class as well as crafting class – in which they had to learn how to create items out of whatever that they could get – were some of the compulsory lessons in which they must take, regardless of gender.

And to the boys' horror, Mizuki informed them with a grin that all students are required to take dancing lessons as shinobis and kunoichis are sometimes required to attend dances or balls and sometimes have to blend in as a regular guest at a formal party on a mission and have to learn how to dance. Medical class in which they were taught how to treat injuries are taught as well, though those that are interested beyond the basic treatment are encouraged to sign up for the medic-nin lessons with the head teacher in charge of this lesson. Riding lessons were also a requirement class for them, regardless of gender, since most ninjas uses horses when on missions which take them far away from their home country.

There were also the campus grounds of the Academy which had beautiful trees and flowers as well as a fountain in the middle of the campus grounds, with the four statues of the celestial gods which the various kingdoms worshipped – Suzaku, Seiryu, Byakko and Genbu – set around the fountain. Most students come here as there was also a pond where geese often flocked to and it is a sure way to release stress.

Then there was the cafeteria of the school, which was unexpectedly large and the sole chef was a master cook, whipping up delicious delicacies for the teachers who were currently having their lunch and even the students can't help feeling hungry when they smelt the aroma.

Also, there was the Student Store of the school where the students go to get their daily supplies like writing paper, pens, practice kunais and shurikens as well as supplies for their classes, and uniforms if their uniforms ever got shredded during lessons. All students in the Academy were issued a student pass and were not allowed to venture out of the Academy during the three years that they were in school, even during vacation, as everything that they needed were in the Academy. The student pass was proof of their status as a student in the ninja Academy and Mizuki told them that their official ninja identification pass will be issued to them once they graduate and become an official ninja of Fire Kingdom.

Then there was the library which houses thousands or even millions of books, though the students need verification from a teacher in order to borrow one of the books from the Restricted Section of the library which contains jutsus of A-rank to S-rank status. Then there were also training rooms and training grounds for the students to train when they're not having lessons, and also a gym in the Academy which is a regular haunt for most students to ensure that they're keeping in shape.

The long and short of it was that by the time Mizuki had ended the tour, it's already seven at night – dinnertime – and the moment the freshmen had their dinner at the cafeteria with the sophomores and seniors, they headed straight for their dorms where they had their shower before plopping in bed.

Hinata was also currently leaning with her back against the headrest, reading a novel whilst Haku was seated on one of the railings of the ladder which lead to her bed. The ice maiden was the last among the four to take the shower as the four had agreed to toss for turns to use the bath to avoid arguments and this had settled things fast enough.

"Come on, we'd better get to bed," said Shiki, looking at the clock in a corner. "It's nearly lights out, anyway, and the teachers will be starting their patrols soon. It's been a long day and I'm sure that we're all tired."

"Okay."


	2. Settling In

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters

**

* * *

****Chapter Two: Settling In**

Soon, Shiki and her friends soon began settling into Academy life.

The classes as well were not as easy as Shiki had imagined. There was a lot more to being a ninja than throwing kunais and shurikens and jutsus. The freshmen year had to learn about the ninja rankings as well. There were several careers that one could pursue as a ninja – medic-nin, hunter, combat specialist, tracker, intelligence and interrogation.

A medic-nin, as the name sounds, was a ninja that specialises in healing. The medic classes were headed by the head of the hospital as well as the head of the shinobi headquarters which is basically the place where shinobis go to get their missions and settle all shinobi affairs. Shizune was the head of the shinobi headquarters and was one of the highest ranking shinobis in all of Fire Kingdom. Sakura, Ino, Haku and Hinata have some interest in the healing arts and had taken some advanced classes for that, alongside their usual combat lessons with the others.

The highest ranking positions in the shinobi ranks in Fire Kingdom are usually the head of the shinobi headquarters, which currently, is Shizune. Another is the Captain of the Royal Guard in Fire Kingdom – the protectors of the royal family and the Fire Palace – which is Umino Iruka. Another position is the Captain of the shinobi forces in the entirety of Fire Kingdom – the highest shinobi rank that a shinobi can take, and the last is the head strategist of Fire Kingdom.

No matter which kingdom that they were in, the most difficult career path for a shinobi to get in is the personal elite shinobi force of the King and Queen – the elite of the elites, the cream of the crop, so as to speak. Those few shinobis who were in the elite shinobi force were the best in their field and usually took the highest ranked missions.

A hunter was also one of the most difficult career paths to take. Hunters are shinobis who basically hunt down any traitors to their own kingdom and most hunters were usually used as guards for the palace in the capital city as they'll be the first to notice that something is out of place sooner than most shinobis. As such, it is extremely difficult to pass hunter exams and trials and become an official hunter.

As it is, Shiki had a field day with taking down all the notes in their lectures, and herself and her friends, as well as their new friends – those whom they met on the day of their orientation – usually met up to study together as their lessons both comprises of theory and practical lessons.

Political lessons was one that majority of the students hated most, along with the history class in which they had to learn the history of every kingdom out there, not only Fire Kingdom's. Then there was also kenjutsu class, jutsu class, psychological class, riding lessons, dancing lessons (to the boys' horror), crafting class (Gaara's favourite), medic class as well as cookery class.

Their lessons in the Academy usually allowed the students to work in groups and the freshmen usually work in groups according to their dorm rooms, though they occasionally worked together with the other groups from other dorms if necessary.

It was a busy, yet fulfilling school life for Shiki, and she, along with the others from the orphanage occasionally wrote to the caretaker of the orphanage who had taken care of them, telling her about their school life and what they had learnt here. And before they knew it, six months had passed, and Shiki got the fright of her life one day when a senior came to get her as the King and Queen had summoned her.

The summons had came just after the end of her final lesson on Friday which so happens to be their cookery class, and as homework, their teacher wanted them to make something filling with only beef and herbs involved.

Temari had wanted to try her hand at this, but the other three members in her dorm had some objections about it.

"What's so wrong about me wanting to try out at cooking?" asked Temari with exasperation as the bell went, marking the end of lessons for the day and the students slowly walked out of their classroom.

Haku, Hinata and Shiki looked at each other and Hinata coughed politely before Haku cleared her throat. "Well...Temari..." said Haku slowly. "It's just that we don't have any good experiences with your cooking. Kankuro nearly got poisoned the last time he sampled your cooking."

Temari blushed, remembering the incident at the orphanage when their caretaker was ill and it came down to one of them to make something for them to eat. Temari had volunteered and Kankuro had sampled her cooking and nearly died of food poisoning.

"Well...it's just that I didn't have any experience with cooking back then." Temari tried to defend herself. "It'll be different this time, I promise!"

Shiki stared at her. "Temari, you nearly burned the kitchen down last week when you did the cooking," she said and Temari blushed.

"You know, I'll rather have Shiki do it," said Hinata weakly. "At least we know that she can cook and I'll rather not have us doing extra lessons just because we could not make something up to the teacher's standard and gotten an F."

Temari sulked as Haku agreed with Hinata. "Fine!" she huffed.

Just then, a head poked into the classroom just then and the four girls blinked to see that it's a senior. "Sorry," said the senior apologetically. "Is there a Namikaze Shiki in this class?"

Shiki blinked. "Yeah. That's me," she said. "Is there something that you need, sempai?"

"Well..." The senior read from a slip of paper that he had in his hand. "You've gotten a summons from the King and the Queen up at the palace." He explained and Shiki gaped.

"Huh?!"

"Shiki, what did you do?" asked Haku, turning towards her best friend.

"I didn't do anything!" Shiki defended herself.

"Don't worry," said the senior comfortingly. "It's the usual standard greeting. The King and the Queen usually gave the freshmen a few months to settle in before summoning them and asking them what they felt about the kingdom and the Academy and all that. It's nothing major. They summoned me as well during my freshman year."

"Oh," said Temari. "In that case, Shiki, you'd better go. We'll be at the usual place at the campus grounds with the others."

The campus grounds is usually the place where Shiki and her friends gathered to study, and somehow, the spot that they choose seemed to be one that no one ever went to as no one ever bothered them there.

"Aa."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shiki looked nervously at the gigantic doors of the Fire Palace before showing the two guards standing guard at the doors the summon slip before one of them nodded and there was a few moments before one of the shinobis in the palace came to escort her to the audience chamber where all shinobis and visitors go to see the King and the Queen.

"You have to wait here for a moment, I'm afraid," said the shinobi apologetically as he brought her to the audience chamber only to find it empty. "The King and Queen are busy people."

Shiki nodded before the shinobi walked away to resume his duties in the palace...doing whatever he is assigned to do. Shiki sighed as she scuffled the carpet beneath her feet with the toe of her shoe and looked at all the paintings on the walls of the audience chamber. Several seemed to be the paintings of the former kings and queens of Fire Kingdom and on another side of the audience chamber were a few paintings of royal families from the other kingdoms and Shiki's eyes widened a slight fraction as she noticed a certain painting which is a painting of the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom.

The audience chamber was a large place with a long red carpet stretching from the entrance of the room to where the thrones were – in fact, the _entire palace _was carpeted and paintings covered the walls of the palace – though most paintings were scenery paintings or paintings of angels.

Suddenly, something collided into Shiki's back just then and she turned to see a small brown-haired boy around five years old sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. "Gomen," said the boy timidly as he got to his feet. The boy looked curiously at Shiki. "Are you a ninja?"

Shiki laughed, bending down to the boy's eye level. "No," she said. "I'm still a trainee. I'm a freshman in the ninja Academy."

The boy beamed. "Sugoi! It means that you're training to be a ninja!" he said, beaming. "I've always wanted to be a ninja, but I can't. The most that I can do is to receive some jutsu training. But I'm still too young for it." He said sadly.

"I'm Shiki," said Shiki. "Namikaze Shiki. What's your name?"

"Konohamaru," said the boy sullenly.

Shiki's eyes widened. She knew that the name 'Konohamaru' is the name of the prince of Fire Kingdom – the nephew of the current king and queen. He was the child of the queen's cousin and was the Crown Prince.

Konohamaru was currently looking at Shiki, as if half expecting the girl to suddenly be treating him differently, like all the others before her. But Shiki only smiled, ruffling his hair, making it even more messed up than usual. "Nice to meet you, Konohamaru," she said. "Is it okay if I call you by your name?"

Konohamaru's eyes widened as he looked at Shiki. She was the first person who didn't call him 'Your Highness' or 'Prince', but addresses him by name as if he was an ordinary kid. This was the first person who treated him like he wants to be treated and the kid grinned, nodding. "Sure!" he said happily. "Ne, neesan. Can you come and visit me at the palace every now and then when I don't have lessons with my tutor?" He asked sadly. "I don't have any friends at all and the shinobis in the palace are always so busy."

Shiki looked at the boy. "What about the kids in town?" she asked. "I'm sure that they would love to play with you."

The boy snorted, something very un-royal-like. "Yeah right," he said. "They only see the prince of Fire Kingdom, the future king, not me as myself. It isn't fun playing with kids who treat you like you're different."

Shiki sighed. "I understand the feeling," she said. "But Konohamaru, I'm not allowed to leave the Academy for three years until I graduate. It's a rule. I'm only allowed to come to the palace today because I was summoned by the King and Queen." Konohamaru's face fell. "But, I'm sure that if you ask the King and Queen, you can come to the Academy to visit me and my friends."

Konohamaru's face brightened. "Really?"

"Konohamaru," said a soft voice and Shiki and Konohamaru blinked and turned towards the entrance of the audience chamber to see a beautiful woman dressed in royal robes of white and pristine blue with blonde hair and amber eyes wearing a gold circlet around her head with a blue stone set in the center of it. A man dressed in royal robes more fitting of that of a warrior in the colours of black and gold with wild silver hair which reaches to his back and brown eyes stood beside her.

"Tsunade baa-chan! Jiraiya jii-san!" said Konohamaru with a short bow.

The woman turned towards Shiki with a smile. "You must be Shiki?" she stated more than asked and Shiki nodded. "I'm Tsunade. I'm the Queen of Fire Kingdom, and this is my husband, the king of Fire Kingdom."

Shiki nodded before saluting them with one hand crossed over her chest like what she had been taught in the Academy. Before going to the Academy, Shiki didn't even realise that there were different ways to greet someone of royal lineage. Commoners bowed to the royal families whilst shinobis saluted instead of bowing, for reasons unknown.

Tsunade smiled. "I see that the Academy has taught you well," she said with a fond smile before making her way towards the throne at the end of the red carpet in the audience chamber. "Konohamaru, you'd best get going. It's time for your lessons with Ebisu." She said sternly. "And you'd better not skip anymore."

Konohamaru looked at Shiki with pathetic looking eyes before bowing to his aunt and uncle and leaving the audience chamber before Shiki moved forwards and stopping ten feet away from the king and the queen.

"Don't worry so much," said Tsunade, smiling at the girl before her. "It's just something that we do every year for the freshmen in the Academy to ensure that they're settling down properly in the Academy and that they were learning the correct things for a shinobi. Besides, you're one of the few that were recruited into the Academy instead of going through the application stage like most of the students."

"I see..." said Shiki slowly.

"How do you find the Academy and Fire Kingdom so far?" asked Jiraiya with a smile.

"Well, I've never been out of the Academy yet, so I can't say for sure, but from what little that I've seen of the town when I came here for the Academy, it was a beautiful place," said Shiki. "And the Academy treats us wonderfully and we've learnt many things that we otherwise wouldn't have learnt. Mizuki-sensei is a wonderful teacher and knew how to capture our attention in lessons and helps those who needed help."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled. "I notice that my nephew seemed to have been quite taken with you," he said. "Very few people can interest Konohamaru, and his tutor has some problems teaching him since he always sneaked away every time."

Shiki looked at the king cautiously. She had a feeling that this concerns her...

"Ebisu, that's Konohamaru's tutor, is an excellent ninja," said Tsunade. "We were thinking of allowing him to return to field duty as he's originally a combat specialist on the field, but he became Konohamaru's bodyguard ever since he was a baby."

Shiki looked at both the king and queen warily. "And this had something to do with me, how?" she asked.

Jiraiya grinned. "Glad that you've asked that," he said. "I am aware that you're only a freshman and you've only just started in the Academy, but would you mind being Konohamaru's tutor?"

Shiki blinked rapidly. "Excuse me?"

"We're not letting him learn jutsus or kenjutsu yet," said Tsunade. "He's still too young. What we want you to teach him is how to read and write properly as he's still only five years old, after all, three years younger than you, and we want you to teach him the politics and history of the various kingdoms. Konohamaru likes you, and I'll gather that he'll listen better to someone whom he likes since he seemed to dislike Ebisu for some reason."

Shiki looked at the king and queen as if they had just gone mad. "But I'm not allowed out of the Academy," she said.

Tsunade laughed. "There are exceptions to that rule," she said. "With the start of the second term, which should be in another month or so, freshmen, sophomores and seniors can only venture out of the school if they are working on sideline jobs. I'm sure that Mizuki had mentioned this to you during the orientation?"

Shiki nodded. The teacher had mentioned that the moment the second term of school begin, the students can take sideline jobs to make a little money and those jobs were usually posted on the notice-board of the Student Affairs' office. That's the only chance that they were given to venture out of the Academy, but even still, they were expected to be back in the Academy before eight at night.

"We will pay you, of course," said Jiraiya. "Since tutoring Konohamaru is also considered a sideline job. It will only be three days per week so that it wouldn't affect your studies. Will you be willing to do it?"

Shiki sighed. "No shinobi stuff, right?" she asked and Tsunade nodded.

"Not until he turns nine, at least," said the queen. "He's still too young for even the most basic shinobi training and he's the Crown Prince, after all. He needs to learn the politics and history of each kingdom before he can take his duties as the prince in the future. He dislikes Ebisu and always ran away from him, so we're hoping that if his tutor is someone whom he likes, he'll pay attention."

Shiki sighed. "I can give it a try," she said. "I had experience with children, and the Prince himself don't seem to mind me addressing him by name."

Tsunade and Jiraiya seemed to smile at this. "We don't mind as well," said Tsunade with a smile. "You're the first person to address him by name. You're his first friend. You can start his tutoring once vacation begins two weeks from now."

Shiki nodded. "If there's nothing else, Your Majesty, I'd like to take my leave," she said and Tsunade nodded before Shiki saluted the king and queen and left the audience chamber.

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged looks before nodding and looking at the painting of the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom on the wall. "I see...so she's Minato and Kushina's..." Tsunade trailed off and Jiraiya nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "It's a great pity that Uzu fell to that attack. Apparently, Shiki's the only survivor. Uzu's elite shinobi force – the Akatsuki – one of the members brought her to the local orphanage in Fire Kingdom so that Whirlpool's enemies wouldn't know where she is."

"Well, having her trained as a ninja is better in the long run as well," said Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded, agreeing with his wife. "Sooner or later, Whirlpool's enemies are going to know that the Whirlpool princess is still alive. And if she knows how to protect herself, all the better."

"True, true," said Jiraiya with a sigh. "And if she becomes Konohamaru's tutor, it wouldn't be too much surprise in the future why she was acquainted with several members of the royal family."


	3. Missions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters

* * *

**Chapter Three: Missions**

_The alarms of Whirlpool Kingdom were nearly all going off at the same time and the various shinobis and guards of the Whirlpool Kingdom were busy fending off all their attackers. Nagato, the captain of the Akatsuki – the personal elite shinobi force of the Whirlpool Kingdom was with the princess of his kingdom, someone whom he had swore to protect until his death the moment that the red-haired princess was born._

_Currently, all of Whirlpool Kingdom was in flames, including the palace itself and both the king and the queen were fighting off their attackers as well when Nagato went to the audience chamber of the palace with the princess safely huddled in his arms where majority of the rest of the Akatsuki was, alongside with a number of Whirlpool Kingdom's shinobis where they were busy fighting off their attackers._

_Several bodies laid on the ground – several of them of the enemy's and a number were that of ninjas from Whirlpool Kingdom as well. As Nagato entered the audience chamber, he nearly yelped in fright as he was nearly cleaved in half by an Oto shinobi and said shinobi got himself cleaved in half by Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the top cards in the Akatsuki._

_The shark-like man was panting heavily, tears and cuts visible on his coat and blood was coating most of his clothes and his sword. Akatsuki had a uniform which sets them apart from the other shinobis. All of Akatsuki wore the standard ninja clothing along with their Akatsuki uniform which is that of a black weather-resistant coat which reaches to their thighs which most of them left unbuttoned, the emblem of the Whirlpool Kingdom etched on the arm of their right coat sleeve, with a red cloud as the background of the swirl which is the emblem of the Whirlpool Kingdom._

"_Kisame!" Nagato gasped as the five-year-old princess whimpered in his hold, burying her face into his neck. The princess was frightened out of her wits and Nagato couldn't blame her._

"_Nagato, where have you been?!" An angry yell pierced through the air before three shinobis coming towards Nagato was cleaved in half by paper birds and Konan, Nagato's childhood friend and the vice-captain of the Akatsuki was standing there._

"_I was protecting the princess!" Nagato snapped. "What's the situation like?"_

"_Not good," said Kisame, huddling in front of Nagato with Konan and a redhead named Sasori – forming a protective barrier around their captain and the princess. "They've completely penetrated our defences. They've took us completely by surprise and their forces are twice the number of ours and not to mention that demons are included in their forces."_

_Konan had an angry scowl on her beautiful face as she formed some throwing knives out of paper with her ability. "Where the hell could have Orochimaru found such soldiers?!" She nearly demanded as she threw the throwing knives straight at the incoming shinobis, killing them instantly. "And the demons aren't known to be very friendly with the humans. And not to mention that majority of those demons are the Progenitor Wolves!"_

_Nagato stared at Konan as if she had just sprouted two new heads. "The Progenitor Wolves?!" he nearly shouted. "Those damned beasts are extremely hard to kill even with jutsus and they're practically immortal and immune to our techniques!"_

"_Precisely the reason why they were chosen, I think," said Sasori grimly. "Only holy magic can take them down and a number of the priestesses have already fallen against them. But at least majority of those vile beasts are gone now."_

"_Come on, let's get the princess to the king and queen," said Kisame before he took the lead by leading the group across the audience chamber to where the king and queen are._

_Like with nearly all royal kingdoms, the queen was dressed in pristine royal robes of blue and silver with a golden circlet on her forehead with a royal blue gem set in the middle of it – the royal colours of the Whirlpool Kingdom. The king was dressed in royal robes of black and gold – more benefitting that of a warrior. And both were fighting off their attackers, with a number of their ninjas assisting their leaders, ready to give their lives up if necessary, like so many before them._

"_Your Majesties!" Deidara called, blowing up another shinobi with one of his specially made bombs and cleaving another shinobi in half behind him with his sword, forming a protective shield around both the king and queen with the remaining members of the Akatsuki who weren't protecting the princess – Zetsu and Tobi. "Come on! We have to get you out of here!"_

"_No," said the queen with a bittersweet smile, turning towards her shinobis. "Whirlpool Kingdom is my home. It is where I was born and it is where I will die."_

"_But—"_

"_I know what Orochimaru is after," said Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina. "And I can't let him have it." She then looked towards Nagato's direction and smiled to see her precious daughter nestled safely in his arms. "Shiki."_

_Shiki looked up at the sound of her mother's voice and the queen smiled as she approached Nagato and took Shiki in her arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry," said the queen before releasing the hug. "You have to get out of here. Live on."_

_Shiki stared at her mother. "You come along too," said the princess, tugging on her mother's sleeve._

_Kushina smiled. "I'm afraid not, sweetheart," said the queen. "Your father and I have something more important to do. Like protecting Whirlpool Kingdom's secrets. I know what Orochimaru wanted and I won't let him have it! Even if I have to destroy all of Whirlpool Kingdom!"_

_The Akatsuki stared at their queen as the king came by his wife's side. Namikaze Minato sighed. "Alright, listen to me," he said. "I need you guys to stay alive. Someone from Whirlpool Kingdom needs to stay alive in order to protect Shiki and the seal!"_

_Shiki blinked in confusion. _'The seal?'

_Nearly all colour drained from the faces of the Akatsuki. Konan was the first one to break the silence, and even her voice doesn't quite sound like her own. "You mean...?" The king nodded. "But it's impossible! Lady Miroku of the Demon Kingdom sealed the beast away when she was still a princess, didn't she?!"_

"_Yes," said Kushina with a sigh. "But that's all she could do. This is the key to it's lair." And she showed the surrounding shinobis a blue-green gem with a swirl within it. "This is what Orochimaru is after. He mustn't release it! That's why..." Kushina slipped the gem into Shiki's pocket and the girl stared at her mother._

"_Mommy?"_

_Kushina smiled before giving Shiki to Nagato. "Nagato, this is my final order to you as your queen," she said. "Take Shiki and hide her somewhere where the Whirlpool's enemies wouldn't find her...where __**Orochimaru **__wouldn't find her!"_

"_Your Majesty..." Nagato began. "I..."_

_Minato turned towards Nagato. "Nagato, I've never once doubted your loyalty to us and the Whirlpool Kingdom," he said. "You're one of our best ninjas, alongside the Akatsuki. This will be our final order to you: protect our daughter. You who have given your loyalty and swore an oath to protect the royal family till the day of your death, I now give you this order. Protect my daughter – the last remaining member of the line of the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom. The Akatsuki must stay alive, you especially!"_

"_Your Majesty...I..."_

"_Go!"_

_It was hours after that when Nagato was running through the woods on the borders of Whirlpool Kingdom with the rest of the Akatsuki, the princess safely nestled in his arms when there was a bright flash of light emanating from the palace and all of Akatsuki turned to see a dome-like barrier surrounding the palace and Konan gasped._

"_That's...the barrier spell," she said. "The queen and king... It can't be..."_

"_There they are!"_

"_Can't those bastards give up?!" Sasori nearly growled. "Nagato, take the princess and go on ahead! We'll catch up later!"_

"_Okay!"_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

BBBBRRRRIIINNNGGG!

Namikaze Shiki snapped her eyes opened and snapped her alarm clock shut before getting out of bed and walking over to the window and opening it, allowing the sunlight to stream into her room where store vendors and shinobis were already going about their daily lives.

It had been four years ever since the day when she came to the ninja Academy in Fire Kingdom, and she, along with the rest of her peers had already graduated about a year ago and were already official ninjas, all of them being twelve years of age.

Shiki had kept the promise that she made to the king and queen during her freshman year in which she will be Konohamaru's part-time tutor. The prince's former tutor was relieved when he heard of it and gave Shiki a brief analysis of what the prince had learned so far on the day when she came to the palace to teach Konohamaru and Ebisu even had a look of pity in his eyes when he met Shiki.

Surprisingly, Shiki was extremely good with children and Konohamaru usually paid rapt attention to her during their lessons, though the redhead made it sure to keep it to at most two hours before giving Konohamaru some time to stretch his muscles and have a short game with him before resuming their lessons.

The king and the queen don't care what kind of methods that Shiki used to coach Konohamaru as long as the prince remembered everything that she had taught him.

The exams during their senior year were extremely difficult as well. Their mid-year examinations was used to test how much they knew during the three years that they had spent at the Academy before the students choose which career path they wanted to take and take the exams for it for the final examinations.

Hinata and Sakura have both opted towards the path of a medic-nin. Haku had opted to be a hunter. Shino, Neji and Kiba have opted towards the path of a tracker. And the remaining ones opted to be a combat specialist.

As it is, all of them had passed with flying colours, even Haku's, whose exam is the most difficult since hunter examinations always are. Shiki, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru and Gaara, however, were required to sit for an additional examination for reasons that escaped them, but did so anyway, and also passed with flying colours.

And then on the day when the results of their examinations were announced and the department which they will be put in, came a surprise for them. All shinobis, no matter which department that they're in, are still required to take on combat missions that often took them outside the kingdom.

Hinata and Sakura have both been accepted into the medic-nin department, though they'll still be expected to take on combat missions outside the kingdom. Haku was accepted into the hunter division, though she's also enlisted as a medic-nin. Shino, Neji and Kiba were all accepted into the tracker division whilst all the others are listed as front line specialists or combat specialists, though Shikamaru was also entered in the intelligence division as one of their strategists. Then came the surprise of all. Those that took the additional examination – Shiki, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru and Gaara – were promoted instantly to squad captain rank in their individual divisions.

Apparently, Mizuki had written out recommendations for the five which was instantly approved by Iruka who had came personally to see them taking their examinations and approved of them attaining the rank of squad captain.

It had been a year since their graduation, and occasionally, Shiki took on missions with her best friends – Gaara and Haku. Most shinobis do missions in groups of three, no more than three, for some reason. And every registered shinobi with the Fire Kingdom were assigned an apartment for them to live in which Shiki shared with Haku, Hinata and Temari – her dorm mates from the Academy.

Her ninja attire had also changed. She was currently wearing a black netted ninja shirt beneath a black T-shirt with a dark blue hooded jacket and a pair of black pants with ankle-length black boots and fingerless black gloves with metal guards on the back and a wakizashi hanging from a cloth holster on her back, with a pin which is that of the symbol of the Fire Kingdom pinned on the collar of her jacket. Said pin had the symbol done in white with outlines of green – identifying Shiki as a squad captain of a combat specialist team.

"You're here, Shiki," said Sakura with a smile one day as the group of three entered the shinobi headquarters where Sakura was seated behind the receptionist desk. The pink-haired girl often helped out by assigning missions to shinobis as one of her jobs. "Here's your mission for today." And she shoved a mission paper into Shiki's hand before the redhead and her other two friends left the desk for the next shinobi to receive their mission.

"What's the mission?" asked Gaara, his hands clasped behind his head as they peered over Shiki's shoulder to read the mission briefing.

"It's a C-rank," said Shiki with a frown. "'An argument between a husband and a wife in the third residential district of Konoha has been disturbing their neighbours and a neighbour had called in to have shinobis settle this argument. A shinobi had been dispatched to settle this argument two days ago, and is still at it. Please go and assist him'."

Shiki sighed and exchanged looks with Gaara and Haku. "Let's go."

**

* * *

**"You're the idiot here!"

"No, you are!"

"Mah, mah, calm down!" Ino tried to calm the arguing couple down.

"_Shut up!"_

Ino sighed before catching sight of her three friends behind her. "Shiki! Gaara! Haku! What are you doing here?"

"We're told to help you out," said Shiki, showing Ino the mission briefing. "What's actually going on?"

"Apparently, it all started when the husband forgot the wife's birthday," said Ino, jerking a thumb behind her at the arguing couple. "And that's where the argument stemmed from."

"I see..." said Haku, a thoughtful look on her face. "Give me a moment."

And all three blinked as one as the raven-haired girl left to head off to who-knows-where. "I wonder what Haku is going to do." Ino wondered out loud.

Haku was soon back in a few minutes with a bouquet of orange tulips with red tips to it in her arms, nestled within a nest of healthy green leaves and tied with a red ribbon.

Gaara blinked. "Haku?"

Haku winked at them before going to the opened doorway of the house of the arguing doorway and announced her presence. "Hello," she said, a bright smile on her face. "I'm from Yamanaka's Florists. Here is your delivery."

The arguing couple turned towards Haku, confused expressions on both their faces. "What? I didn't order anything."

"No, your husband did," said Haku. "I'm so sorry for the delay, sir. The flowers bloomed late this year." And she gave the bouquet of flowers to the wife.

"Oh, Honey, you didn't forget!" said the wife with a smile on her face, the bouquet of flowers in her arms.

"I...erm...that's right!"

"Oh, and the meaning of the flowers are 'everlasting love'," said Haku with a smile and a wink. "With that, good day."

"Where did you get those flowers from?" asked Ino with amusement laced in her voice as the four walked away from the house: one mission done.

Haku smiled. "From your mother at the flower shop," she said. "I told her of the situation and she did up a bouquet extremely quickly for this particular mission."

"I didn't even know you knew of the meaning of the flowers," said Gaara, fairly amused.

Haku looked sheepish at this point in time. "Well, I made it up on the spot," she admitted. "But it works, didn't it?" She then sighed. "Let's go and get our next mission."

Ino chuckled. "Well, my mission is done as well, so I'd better go and meet up with Sakura and Temari. Thanks for the help, Haku," she said. "The mission payment will be waiting at headquarters, so be sure to pick it up."

All three nodded before watching the Yamanaka run off.

**

* * *

**"What's the next mission?" asked Gaara as they walked outside the shinobi headquarters. Someone named Kotetsu was manning the receptionist desk as Sakura was back to doing missions with Ino and Temari. Shiki had picked up their next mission whilst Haku had picked up their mission payment. Apparently, nearly all of the arguing couple's neighbours had polled together their money to pay for that mission, and although it's ranked as a C, it's really a B and the long and short of it was that the mission payment amount up to 15,000 ryo.

"It's another C-rank," said Shiki, noting the large C written in big red letters on the top of the mission briefing and read the mission briefing. "Let's see... 'I would like to ask for some...err...youthful shinobis and kunoichis to...'" Shiki blinked rapidly, re-reading it again to make sure that she had read it right. "What the hell kind of request is this?"

"What's wrong?" asked Haku, before reading the mission request out. "'I would like to ask for some youthful shinobis and kunoichis to get one beautiful flower by the name of Haruno Sakura to go out with me'." All three blinked.

Gaara nearly groaned. "I think I know who the client is," he said. "It's that crazy Lee guy."

Haku sighed. "Well, a mission's a mission," she said. "Let's go and find Sakura. Do you know where she is?"

"Well, Ino did say that they're doing missions right now," said Shiki, frowning. "So they should still be in the shinobis headquarters." And she blinked as she caught sight of Lee heading into the shinobi headquarters, with an exasperated Neji and Tenten following him in. She exchanged amused looks with Gaara and Haku. "I can guess what's going to happen, but let's go and take a look."

Haku giggled and Gaara sighed before all three headed into the shinobi headquarters and asked for Sakura only to have Kamizuki Izumo pointing them towards a room in the back where Sakura is sorting out the sideline jobs for the Academy students to take with Temari and Ino as part of their mission.

The moment that the three entered the room where Sakura is, they were treated to a fairly amusing sight. Temari and Ino were both watching on with amusement as Sakura was fuming at Lee, the latter who had hearts for eyes and Tenten and Neji were both standing in a corner, the former shaking her head and the latter muttering something that sounds like "I do not know him" under his breath.

"The day that I assign you a mission, Rock Lee, is the day that the Fire Kingdom's name is sullied!" Sakura was saying. "And I won't go out with you even if you paid me!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Fire Palace:_

"What do you think, Tsunade?" asked Jiraiya as his wife was looking over the letter that bore the royal seal of the Wind Kingdom on it.

Tsunade sighed. "Konohamaru is already nine," she said. "It's time for him to resume his duties as the prince of Fire Kingdom. And it's true that our alliance with the Wind isn't exactly stable right now. But an arranged marriage with the daughter of the king at Wind Kingdom... I don't know."

"But doing this might prevent war from breaking out and our alliance with Wind from shattering," said Jiraiya thoughtfully. "It might be unfair to Konohamaru, but as it is, these are the sacrifices that a member of the royal family must endure for his country. We went through the same thing too when we're his age, didn't we?"

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, but we're lucky," she said. "I never met the princess of Wind Kingdom, so I don't know what she's like. But I do know that she's Konohamaru's age, so hopefully, those two can get along and maybe fall in love later on."

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, we have no other choice," he said. "This is a political marriage and alliance with Wind. And unfortunately, Konohamaru is the Crown Prince and he's the only one who can do it. Besides, the king of Wind Kingdom specified for him."

Tsunade sighed. "When you put it that way..." she muttered. "I'll send a reply back. But I think it's best if Konohamaru spend some time over at Wind to get to know his fiancée until he's thirteen or so before the princess spend some time over in Fire until they can get married. It's a three day journey of Wind and we'll have to send someone to escort Konohamaru to Wind since I've heard from some of our scouts that Oto is still lurking around."

Jiraiya sighed. "I doubt that Konohamaru will be pleased," he said.


	4. Demon Kingdom

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters

* * *

**Chapter Four: Demon Kingdom**

"_Nani?!"_

The loud cry echoed throughout the entire palace of Fire Kingdom and no one would be surprised if the entire capital city of Konoha had heard it too. The shinobi guards guarding the palace looked towards the direction of the audience chamber where the cry had came from, wondering what that cry was.

The first prince of Fire Kingdom, Konohamaru, was currently glaring at his aunt and uncle, the queen and king of Fire Kingdom, and if looks could kill, they'll both be dead a hundred times over.

He was just summoned to the audience chamber by the queen herself and he had wondered what it was about until both the king and queen told him about the political alliance between Fire and Wind and that the only way to solidify the alliance is via a political marriage between the first prince and princess of Fire and Wind.

"You're marrying me off to someone whom I don't even know?!" Konohamaru raged, his hands clenched into fists by his sides.

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya winced at his loud volume and the two guards standing outside the audience chamber wondered what could have pissed the prince off this much. Meanwhile, Konohamaru was furious. He had learned all about politics and about political alliances and marriages from Shiki, and had of course heard about political marriages – a marriage between two individuals from different kingdoms to solidify an alliance between both their kingdoms. But from what Shiki had told him, political marriages just aren't done often now as it is during the first Great War when nearly all the kingdoms in existence came to war until the Whirlpool Kingdom put a stop to it.

Tsunade sighed. She knew that the boy would react like this. She reacted the same way too when her own father had announced to her when she was a child that she's to be engaged to Jiraiya who was the prince of the Fire Kingdom then. "Konohamaru, you're the prince," said Tsunade patiently. "You know that it's your _duty_ to serve the kingdom. Didn't anything Shiki taught you sunk into your head?"

Konohamaru looked distraught, and looking at him, Jiraiya felt sorry for him. He remembered that when he was a child, he wasn't exactly pleased when his own father told him that he was to be married off to some stranger as well, but he was lucky; he and Tsunade had actually liked each other and fallen in love later on during their teens. But not everyone is that lucky. Konohamaru is unlucky enough to be born the prince of Fire Kingdom, and not just any prince, but the first prince and the Crown Prince of Fire Kingdom. And he had to learn that being a member of the royal family meant that he had to make some sacrifices sometimes.

"Konohamaru, I know that this isn't exactly fair for you, but please remember that the princess whom you'll be engaged to probably don't like the idea as well," said Jiraiya patiently. "I know that this isn't exactly fair to either party, but you have to do this for the sake of the kingdom. Besides, you won't be officially married until you turn eighteen. This will be just an engagement until you both turn of age. Plenty of time for you both to get to know each other." He sighed. "I'm really sorry about this, really I am. But if you don't do this, it may cause a political incident and both our kingdoms may go to war."

Konohamaru sighed. Political studies are the one thing that Shiki had repeatedly drummed into his head ever since she became his tutor. As a ninja, Shiki herself _have _to know and understand politics since she'll most probably be going onto diplomatic and political missions sometime in the future, especially since she's a squad captain. And himself being the crown prince of Fire Kingdom, he has to know politics since he'll be the king of Fire Kingdom in the future.

Konohamaru sighed. "How much trouble will there be if I don't do this?" he asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to know more about this situation anyway.

"Lots," said Tsunade with a tired sigh. "Our alliance with Wind isn't exactly stable enough as it is, and it is extremely shaky right now. If we reject this political marriage, it may just harm our relationship with the Wind, and the Kaze King offered the way of the old political marriage to strengthen the alliance between both our kingdoms to prevent war from breaking out. Luckily for you, though, the princess from Wind is just your age, and not someone several years older than you."

Konohamaru nodded dumbly. Shiki had mentioned once in passing about the kingdoms of old and how a princess was wedded to a man several decades her senior who is old enough to be her father, and felt relieved at least that his would-be-wife is someone close to his age.

Konohamaru sighed again. "Whatever. Who's my escort?"

"Shiki," said Jiraiya. "She's been trained in diplomatic relations by Iruka since she's been recommended by both Mizuki and Shizune to be our ambassador with other kingdoms, and this is also her trial run to be the next-in-line for the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces since Nakamura is stepping down soon in a year or so, not that she's aware of it. I think she's currently on a diplomatic mission to the Demon Kingdom with Gaara and Haku, though. You'll set off with her once she gets back."

"Shiki will be staying at the Wind Kingdom with you for a week or so to ensure that things run smoothly for you before returning to the Fire," said Tsunade. "You'll be expected to stay at the Wind Kingdom for four years – until you turn thirteen, then the princess from Wind will stay at Fire until you both turn eighteen and the wedding will be held at the Fire Kingdom."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"At-choo!"

"Not catching a cold, are you?" asked Haku with concern. "You've been sneezing ever since we arrived at the borders of the Demon Kingdom."

Shiki waved her best friend's concerns off. "Someone is probably talking about me," she muttered, leaning against the railing whilst waiting for Gaara to get the tickets for the boat that they're about to board.

The three of them were currently on a diplomatic mission to the Demon Kingdom where they are to deliver an important letter from the king and queen of Fire Kingdom to the queen aka priestess of Demon Kingdom, Lady Miroku.

Demon Kingdom was different from most kingdoms in which the kingdom can only be ruled by a _queen,_ not a king, and that the current queen can only have _one child, _though if their first child is a male, they're allowed to have another until they have a daughter. During the rare occasions when there was a prince, said prince will be the commander of Demon Kingdom's shinobi forces once they turn of age and serve the queen directly.

The rulers of Demon Kingdom also have some holy powers and are extremely powerful priestesses – with the power to seal away demons. Demon Kingdom was surrounded by lakes and rivers and it had an extremely cold climate, which is the reason why all three of the shinobis of Fire Kingdom were currently dressed in thick coats and scarves.

Gaara finally came up to them, boring three boat passes in his hand. "Come on, let's go," he said. "The boat will depart in an hour."

**

* * *

**It was whilst on their boat ride which will take them nearly a whole day to get to the palace of the Demon Kingdom that Haku who was currently leaning against the side of the boat noticed someone bobbing about in the sea.

"Boatman, stop the boat! There's someone in the sea!"

Ten minutes later, Gaara and Haku had managed to get the man onto their boat. Said man was dressed in a sleeveless black shirt with dark pants and black combat boots. Bandages covered the lower part of his face and a simply enormous sword hung on his back.

"He'll be alright," said Haku, having examined the unconscious man. "He doesn't seem to have swallowed too much water and should be waking up soon."

Right on cue, the man started to cough and opened his eyes blearily. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You're aboard a boat in the Demon Kingdom," explained Haku. "Who are you?"

The man coughed again. "I'm Zabuza," he said. "Momochi Zabuza."

Shiki frowned. "How did you land in the sea?" she asked. "Were you shipwrecked or something?"

Zabuza looked sheepish at this point, even with the bandages concealing the lower part of his face. "Er...something like that," he said. "I'm...doing a task for someone and was trying to get to the mainland from the western side."

"The western side?!" Gaara blinked rapidly, staring at Zabuza as if he had suddenly grown two new heads. "Are you trying to throw your life away or something?!"

"What do you mean, Gaara?" asked Haku, confused. She hadn't been out of the kingdom on missions before, unlike her two teammates who had been trained in diplomatic missions as they were both squad captains.

"There's a barrier that the king and queen of the now destroyed Whirlpool Kingdom set up seven years ago around the kingdom itself," explained Shiki. "And this barrier extends even to the coastlines. No ship can get close to it." Shiki narrowed her eyes dangerously at Zabuza. "And from what you've said and your accent...who are you?"

"Hey, hey, what is this? An interrogation?"

"As a shinobi of Fire Kingdom who also happens to be an ally with Demon Kingdom, I cannot risk keeping suspicious people with us aboard this ship," said Shiki. "Identify yourself or I shall throw you overboard."

Gaara and Haku knew that Shiki don't mean what she said, but Zabuza couldn't have possibly known it and paled instantly. He then noticed the shinobi badges on the collars of Gaara, Shiki and Haku and perked up. He hadn't noticed it so far because of the coats that they wore over their usual shinobi clothing.

"Are you shinobis from the Fire Kingdom?" he asked and all three nodded. "And I see that two of you are squad captains and the last a hunter. I'm a shinobi from the hunter division of Fire Kingdom. I was sent on a secret mission by the king himself into Oto territory. But I was discovered when I was trying to leave by ship and was attacked by some of their shinobis. Thus, I tried to escape by making my way around the west side."

"I see..." said Shiki with a nod. "But we can only take your word that you're a Fire shinobi. Where's your badge?"

Zabuza reached into the pouch around his waist and took out a small badge like the one that Gaara, Shiki and Haku had, though in the same design and colours of the badge that Haku had. Shiki took the badge from Zabuza and turned it over to see the faint outlines of a series of numbers engraved on the back of the badge.

Every shinobi had their ninja identification number engraved on the back of their badge and was required to memorise this number in case they ever lost their badge. Their chakra signature was also imprinted into the badge the day they received it so that no imposter can use their badge. Those that tried will be electrocuted. Though only those of squad captain rank and above knew another characteristic about the shinobi badge of Fire Kingdom that no other knew. Just by focusing some of their chakra into the badge, the name, division, kingdom as well as the rank and identification number of the owner of the badge will be showed temporarily on the back of the badge.

"Your identification number?" asked Shiki and Zabuza sighed.

"H065894632," he recited.

Shiki examined the numbers on the back of the badge and nodded to see that it's correct before focusing some of her chakra into the badge and faint red lettering showed up:

'_Name: Momochi Zabuza_

_Division: Hunter division_

_Kingdom: Fire Kingdom_

_Rank: Hunter rank one_

_Identification number: H065894632'_

Shiki nodded, satisfied, before handing the badge back to Zabuza. "Sorry about that, but we need to be certain."

Zabuza nodded. "That's natural," he said.

"So you're a rank one hunter?" said Shiki, impressed. "That's the highest rank that a hunter can achieve. Haku here is a hunter as well, though she's currently at rank three."

Zabuza turned towards Haku, impressed. "Rank three? How long have you been a hunter?"

"About a year," said Haku. "I'm working solo currently."

Zabuza nodded, impressed. "Once we get back to the kingdom, how would you like to be my partner?" he asked. "I'm currently without a partner, and you're extremely talented, I can see. Furthermore, having a medic as a partner will help as well."

Haku smiled. "That will be great."

"Shinobi-san, we'll be arriving at the palace in ten minutes," said the boatman and Shiki nodded.

"Okay."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The boat was docked at the harbour not too far away from the palace where the boatman said that he will wait for their business to be done with before taking them back to the mainland. And even though there wasn't a single guard that could be seen as the three, with the addition of Zabuza, walked towards the main gates of the palace, they weren't fooled. Haku and Zabuza who were both trained as hunters could sense the presences of several shinobis hidden in the shadows and Gaara and Shiki could sense that they were high-class ones, easily on their level or even stronger.

"Halt," said a shinobi at the front gates of the palace as the four approached. "State your business here."

"We're shinobis from Fire Kingdom," said Shiki, showing her shinobi identification pass to the guard and the others followed suit. "We're here on a mission."

The guard examined their passes before nodding. "Wait a moment, please."

It was ten minutes before a guard was assigned to take them to the audience chamber where the queen of Demon Kingdom is. The queen was dressed in pristine white flowing robes with twin golden bells pinned to the sleeve of her robes, identifying her position as the queen. A young blonde who looked a lot like the queen which they guessed must be the princess stood next to her, dressed in white robes as well, with two golden bells pinned to the sleeve of her right arm.

The eyes of the queen and the princess widened as they saw Shiki before the queen snapped back to reality. "Welcome to Demon Kingdom," she said. "I'm the queen of Demon Kingdom, Miroku, and this is my daughter, Shion."

All four shinobis saluted the two by crossing their arm across their chests. Shiki then stepped forward, withdrawing a scroll from within her pouch which bore the royal seal of Fire Kingdom and handed it to the queen. "I'm Namikaze Shiki, the leader of the group sent from Fire Kingdom. This is from the king and queen of Fire Kingdom," she said. "I was told to give this to you."

"Thank you," said Lady Miroku with a smile. She then noticed how Shion had been staring at Shiki. "Shion, why don't you go with Shiki to the sea?"

"Yes Mother."

Lady Miroku then turned towards Shiki. "Would you please be my daughter's escort whilst I pen a reply back to Tsunade and Jiraiya?" she asked. "It shouldn't take too long."

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Shiki before she followed Shion out of the nearby door.

"Do you wish for us to leave?" asked Haku politely as the queen settled down behind a desk and started penning her reply back to the queen and king of Fire Kingdom.

"No, you may stay," said Lady Miroku with a gentle smile. "It's been a while since we've had company from other kingdoms." She then noticed the looks on all three of the shinobis' faces and frowned a little. "Is there something wrong?"

Gaara sighed. "Your Majesty, permission to speak freely," he said formally and Lady Miroku frowned, but nodded.

"Granted."

"Does the princess know Shiki?" asked Haku, having noticed the look that Shion gave Shiki.

Lady Miroku frowned, wondering how to explain it in a way that wouldn't prevent Shiki's identity from leaking out. She was aware that Shiki was still alive, of course. Tsunade and Jiraiya had been close friends of hers, and they had told her when Shiki first enrolled into the ninja Academy in Fire Kingdom. Miroku was sad that Shiki was over at Fire, since she had wanted to have Shiki with her in the Demon Kingdom as Kushina was her best friend, but later dropped the idea since she knew that if anyone had been looking for the missing princess from Whirlpool, the first place they would look in is the Demon Kingdom since it's of no secret that Shion and Shiki are best friends when they were little, like herself and Kushina when they were still princesses.

She still remembered how Kushina had met Minato. The blonde was a prince from the now destroyed Gale Kingdom, one of the kingdoms destroyed during the last Great War when the Oto Kingdom tried to expand their territory. Minato had taken whatever soldiers that had survived back then, and had fled to Whirlpool Kingdom who is an ally with the Gale Kingdom back then and had started anew. It wasn't that long after that when Kushina had fallen for Minato. Both were thirteen then, and Kushina was still a princess. Kushina's parents had noticed the tell-tale signs of love and had engaged both Kushina and Minato together. The story had a happy ending as both had married when they turned eighteen, but then, the Whirlpool Kingdom ended up destroyed eight years after their marriage.

"Not exactly," said Lady Miroku slowly. "It's just that your friend looked a lot like Shion's lost friend – the princess of the now destroyed Whirlpool Kingdom."

All three shinobis present stiffened. The Whirlpool Kingdom was an extremely powerful kingdom back then and they not only have shinobis, but also priestesses, priests, arch mages as well as sorcerers, unlike the kingdoms of present who only have one or the other – either shinobis or magic users.

"The king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom were my best friends," explained Lady Miroku. "We grew up together and I attended their wedding when they both turned eighteen – two years after the end of the last Great War and the former king and queen – the parents of the princess – the current queen – died. They had a daughter a few years after that, and she was a beauty. So much so that kings and queens from all over were asking for her hand in marriage for their sons. But all that was turned down. Because the queen of Whirlpool Kingdom is my best friend, I often went to Whirlpool to visit them with Shion. Shion and their daughter were about the same age and they were best friends. Things were simple back then. But then, a tragedy happened seven years ago in the Whirlpool Kingdom."

"A tragedy?"

Miroku sighed. "Yes. Shion and the princess of the Whirlpool Kingdom were very close friends. They're almost like sisters. There was an attack by the Oto Kingdom on Whirlpool. It was a surprise attack and demons were included in that attack. No one survived from that attack as the king and queen set up that barrier around the entire kingdom to kill their enemies, killing themselves in the process. But we do know that the princess from Whirlpool survived, but she went missing shortly after that, along with a team of the Whirlpool's best ninjas. Shion changed after the princess went missing. The reason why she took to your friend..." Miroku hesitated, trying to explain it in a way that will keep Shiki's real identity from them, "is probably because she looks so much like the missing princess from Whirlpool. They both have red hair and they even have the same name. The name 'Shiki' which means 'four seasons'. The name of the missing Whirlpool princess was...Shiki."

**

* * *

**"So you survived," said Shion with a smile, turning towards her best friend and Shiki nodded. "Why didn't you let us know? My mother would have protected you from Oto."

"I couldn't," said Shiki, looking at the sea which the sun is now sinking below. "Nagato, the captain of the Akatsuki – Uzu's elite shinobi forces – told me that in no way am I to tell anyone that I'm the princess of Whirlpool. Oto have spies everywhere and Whirlpool has countless enemies because of the power that we wield. That's why Nagato left me at the orphanage in Fire Kingdom which is the one place where no one would dream of finding me. If I ever contacted you or your mother, and if any of our enemies found out, who knows what will happen?"

"Sou ka..." said Shion softly. "At least I know that you're alive. That's all that matters." She turned towards Shiki. "The queen and king of Fire Kingdom wrote to my mother nearly four years ago, the letter being delivered by a high ranked shinobi in Fire Kingdom. In that letter, they told us that you're still alive and that you're in the ninja Academy of Fire Kingdom. I was relieved, but I still wanted to see you with my own eyes to be sure that you're still alive."

"I know..." said Shiki. "But as long as Oto and Orochimaru are still out there, I couldn't risk having my identity known to anyone. I know for sure that you and your mother will know as Fire and Demon are close friends and allies with the Whirlpool. And let's not forget Spring."

Shion frowned. "I received a letter from Yukie last week," she said. "Her father died of illness about a month ago and she's now the queen." Shion sighed. "Oto is still out there, but still lying low. And about that...what about the Akatsuki?"

Shiki shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "Nagato never came back for me, and neither did any of the others, for that matter. I'm not even sure if they're alive or dead. As far as I know, they're the only ones who survived the attack all those years ago."

"I see..." said Shion before she removed the bells from her sleeve and took one bell and handed it to Shiki who raised an eyebrow. "Take that. That's the Guardian Bell. My mother told me about it. As long as we each hold one bell, we'll know if anything happens to either one of us." Shion smiled sadly. "You're my first and only friend, Shiki. I don't want to think that anything had happened to you."

"I understand..." said Shiki as she slipped the bell into her pouch.

Just then, Haku came up to Shiki and Shion – both whom had sensed the hunter's presence sometime ago. Shiki because she's a ninja and Shion because she's a priestess with holy powers.

"Shiki, time to go," said Haku. "Lady Miroku had finished penning the letter. We should get back to Fire Kingdom as soon as possible."

"I know," said Shiki. "We'll set off in ten."

Haku nodded before heading towards the palace and Shiki turned back towards Shion. "It'll be extremely difficult for me to write to you, but I'm currently being trained in diplomatic relations and I'm applying for the post of being Fire Kingdom's ambassador," she said. "If I ever got the job, we'll be to see each other again when I'm here on diplomatic missions."

Shion smiled. "Okay," she said. "See you soon, Shiki."

Shiki smiled. "Aa."


	5. Heading to Wind Kingdom

Thanks for the reviews! And to clear up some questions regarding Shiki, in this fanfic, Shiki and the others are _eleven _when they graduated from the Academy, and because a year had only passed since graduation, they're currently _twelve. _And as far as strength goes, Shiki is at lower Jounin level since she's at squad captain rank.

I hope this clears up any questions that you have regarding this fanfic, and Itachi will be making his first appearance in this chapter. Please read and review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters

* * *

**Chapter Five: Heading to Wind Kingdom**

Namikaze Shiki groaned to herself, looking at the sulking prince standing in a corner.

She had only just gotten back from her diplomatic mission from the Demon Kingdom with Gaara and Haku, with the addition of Momochi Zabuza, and the moment that the four had stepped through the gates of the capital city of Fire Kingdom, the guards at the gate had announced to Shiki that she had a summons from the king and queen.

Long story short, Shiki was summoned to the audience chamber, and Jiraiya and Tsunade had not wasted any time informing her of her next mission to escort the prince to the Wind Kingdom...to meet his fiancée. And looking at Konohamaru's sulky face told Shiki everything that she wanted to know – that this is a political and arranged marriage between Wind and Fire.

All shinobis on squad captain rank and above in the Fire Kingdom knew that the relationship between Fire and Wind is extremely shaky right now, and everyone was expecting for either Fire or Wind to do something about it, but the last thing that Shiki thought of is a political marriage!

"So I'll be staying there for a week or so to be sure that the prince will be safe there before returning, right?" said Shiki and Jiraiya nodded.

"We have recent news from our scouts that Oto had been lurking around recently," said Jiraiya, and both the king and queen noticed the slight twitch of the redhead's eye and the clenching of her fists. Only a shinobi or someone with a trained eye can detect this gesture. "So Shiki, expect some trouble on the way there. We'll prepare the fastest horse for you to get to the Wind Kingdom. I assume that you can ride a horse?"

Shiki nodded. "The only horse that Konohamaru had ever ridden in his life is a pony, so he'll be on the same horse as you," said Tsunade before throwing Shiki a scroll with Fire Kingdom's emblem, along with the royal seal of the king and queen on it which Shiki caught easily, thanks to her shinobi training. "It's your responsibility to keep Konohamaru safe. If anything ever happens to either Konohamaru or the princess from Wind, the alliance between Wind and Fire will come to an end and both kingdoms will go to war. You understand the importance of this mission, don't you?"

Shiki nodded grimly, wondering just why they are sending her when there are so many better ninjas than her in the Fire Kingdom who is better suited for this mission.

Jiraiya coughed politely. "Well then, you'll set out at daybreak tomorrow," he said. "Pack only the necessary necessities, Shiki. It's a five day journey from the Fire to the Wind. We've already sent a message to the king of Wind Kingdom two days ago, and he'll be expecting you."

Shiki sighed. "Yes, Your Majesty," she said, saluting them with her hand crossed over her chest.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two hours before the sun will begin to rise, one can find Namikaze Shiki at the horse stables of Fire Kingdom, located not too far away from the shinobi headquarters. The redhead had dropped by at the shinobi headquarters earlier and had put her name down on the 'absence with leave' list on the notice-board, stating her reason as 'diplomatic mission'. It was one of the rules that were drilled into the heads of all those who went to the Academy. Whenever a shinobi had to leave the kingdom for a certain amount of time and they won't know how long it will take them, they have to put their name down on the 'absence with leave' list on the notice-board in the shinobi headquarters so that any clients who had been requesting for them will have the choice to either wait for them to return or to have a different ninja take on their mission, and it also serves as a purpose to have the shinobi headquarters' administration department know where all their shinobis are at all times.

Shiki was currently at the horse stables with the head stable boy – one of those who usually look after the horses in the Fire Kingdom. Most of the shinobis in Fire Kingdom have their own horses, especially since majority of them were sent out on missions outside Fire Kingdom so often that it sounded silly to have to use the horses that were Fire Kingdom's own, which, most of the time, are usually used to train the Academy students in horse riding.

Shiki had gotten her own horse about six months ago, along with Gaara, Neji, Shino and Shikamaru – those who were also of squad captain rank like her. Shiki's horse was a beautiful horse with a gleaming black coat and chocolate-brown eyes with hues of red around the irises. For reasons that escaped her friends, Shiki had named her horse 'Natsu' which basically meant summer. The horse was usually quite friendly and gentle with Shiki, but she's the only person whom he would let ride him, though he does let Shiki's friends – once they have been introduced to the horse, of course – pet or feed him with the occasional titbit. Haku once commented that Natsu is exactly like his mistress, whatever that means.

Currently though, Shiki was saddling her horse who stood patiently outside the stables as the head stable boy was cleaning the horse. Shiki currently had a bag on her back, hanging from a strap across her chest, her wakizashi – Naiya Senka – in it's usual cloth holster, half of the sword poking out from her bag. Her usual kunai and weapon pouches were in it's usual places on her thigh and waist.

"Shiki-sama," said a soft voice and Shiki turned to see one of the king's aides coming towards her with Konohamaru close behind him. The prince was dressed in loose fitting clothing so that he can move about easily, a pack on his back like Shiki's.

Shiki sighed in relief. "Thank you, Funan," she said and the aide nodded before saluting Shiki and excusing himself.

Konohamaru still had an angry scowl on his face, and Shiki frowned when she saw this. The redhead knelt down to Konohamaru's eye level and placed both hands on his shoulders. "Konohamaru, listen to me," she said. "I know that you aren't that happy with this arrangement, but you know this when I started tutoring you. A member of the royal family _has_ to make certain sacrifices for their own country. Unfortunately, this also means that you may have to sacrifice your own future and happiness for your country. Do you _want_ Wind and Fire to go to war?"

"No," mumbled the prince.

"Then if I am you, I will accept this," said Shiki patiently. "This may sound harsh, but this is life. You're born as the prince of Fire Kingdom, and you have to do your duty. Try to get to know the princess, and who knows, maybe you will love her in the end?"

Konohamaru nodded sullenly. "I understand, Shiki-neesan," he said.

"Captain, your horse is ready," said the stable boy and Shiki straightened herself up and nodded.

"Thank you," said Shiki before helping Konohamaru to get on Natsu. Since the boy is just nine years old and not very tall as it is, Natsu practically towered over the small boy. Shiki then grabbed the reins saddled on Natsu and got on her horse behind Konohamaru. "Let's go."

With a loud neigh from Natsu, they were soon on their way.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Four days later, both Shiki and Konohamaru were nearly at the Wind Palace, but that is when they were ambushed by ninjas on horses which Shiki instantly recognised as Oto-nins. Shiki and Konohamaru had taken the occasional break during the past four days of travel, stopping occasionally for meals or for Natsu to rest, Shiki taking the horse to the occasional stream to have a drink.

But on the fourth day of travel in mid-afternoon, that's when the Oto-nins attacked.

Natsu was easily the fastest horse in the whole of Fire Kingdom, and he was also a shinobi trained horse, one who wouldn't get scared or frightened by the occasional kunai or shuriken which headed his way, and Shiki was an extremely skilled rider, having been trained to fight on horses. But still, they have almost ten shinobis after them, with a number of demons as well, and Shiki can only do so much especially since she also has to protect the prince.

She had taken down the ninjas with little to no problem at all since Shiki is a master at wind jutsus – a rarity in the Fire Kingdom where fire and earth elemental jutsus are more common among the shinobis. The king himself is the only one other than Shiki in the Fire Kingdom to use wind jutsus. Haku, Hinata, Ino and Sakura, on the other hand, are also the only ones in Fire Kingdom, other than the queen and Shizune to know water jutsus since they are medics and water have healing properties. Zabuza is the only one other than them in the whole of Fire Kingdom to know any water jutsus.

"Hand over the prince, _human," _hissed one of the demons which seemed to be a mixture between a wolf and a dragon, having scales all over it's body and is surprisingly fast as well. Shiki recognise this demon as a type called the Ogre-Dragoon. Dragoon demons are extremely powerful among the demon race especially since they are descended directly from dragon demons, but not as powerful as the dragon demons. The Ogre-Dragoon are ranked as the third most powerful among the Dragoon species, the most powerful being the Dragoons themselves, of course, and the second being the Wolf-Dragoons.

But still, the Ogre-Dragoons aren't to be underestimated. What they lack in power, they make up in speed and strength. Dragoon demons are extremely skilled in magic, and while only a true Dragoon can only be hurt by holy magic, the Ogre-Dragoon and Wolf-Dragoon can still be killed by a shinobi.

Shiki scowled as she threw a cloak over Konohamaru's head who she can feel is trembling in terror against her, tightening the reins on Natsu and urging him to increase his speed which the horse gladly did so.

"If you want him, come and claim him," snarled Shiki as she formed a few handseals and froze that demon into a cube of ice. Ice and wind jutsus are Shiki's speciality, though she preferred using wind jutsus.

'_One down, nine to go,' _thought Shiki, taking a backwards glance to see nine of those blasted demons hot on her tail. _'If I can just get to the capital city of Wind, they will stop coming.'_

All kingdoms have a magical barrier erected around the capital city to prevent demons from entering and creating havoc. It also had the power to repel the un-dead demons and purify demons instantly. Praying to whatever god that she believed in that Konohamaru can get to Wind Kingdom in one piece and _alive,_ Shiki increased her speed.

**

* * *

**_Wind Kingdom; Wind Palace:_

Uchiha Itachi was bored.

The sixteen-year-old raven-haired shinobi was currently a squad captain of one of Wind Kingdom's combat specialist teams and was one of the best shinobis that they've got. His younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, had just graduated from the ninja Academy in Wind Kingdom a little more than a year ago and was also at squad captain rank. Both teams of the two Uchiha brothers often worked on missions together.

Currently though, the older Uchiha was amusing himself watching the princess of Wind Kingdom using a few blunted kunai usually used for training the students at the Academy for target practice – the paper which she's currently shooting the kunais at had one of the faces of the councilmen drawn on it.

Itachi and his brother have both been on guard duty outside the audience chamber when the princess was called in by her father, her ever loyal friend and aide – Miyugi Udon – tagging after her like always. Then, the princess was told that she was to be engaged to the prince of Fire Kingdom, and she wasn't exactly pleased with it even though her father told her that they would only be married once they turn eighteen and that the prince was just her age.

Fortunately for her future husband-to-be however, the princess doesn't hate him. She blames the councilmen, actually. Those pompous ass bastards do not even have the decency to inform her a week BEFORE the Fire representatives would be here, but only told her two days ago! Is it of any wonder why the princess is pissed off?

Like Fire Kingdom, the royal families of the Wind Kingdom were taught jutus and hand-to-hand combat training once they're old enough so that they can protect themselves if their bodyguards could not do it for some reason. Itachi and Sasuke were the ones who taught the princess, and unofficially, they're the princess's bodyguards.

The king had also summoned Itachi and his brother into the palace two days ago and informed them that the Fire representative who would be escorting the prince from the Fire Kingdom to Wind will be putting up as a guest at their home, especially since the Uchiha clan is one of the noble families in Wind, yet are also one of Wind's most powerful shinobis.

Itachi's parents – Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku – have no problems with it and had even prepared a room just next door to Itachi's own room for their guest. They were expecting the Fire representative any day soon, and the only thing that Itachi knew about their guest is that she's one of the best ninjas from the Fire, and is also at squad captain rank and she also happens to be the prince from the Fire Kingdom's tutor – one of the reasons why she was selected to escort the prince to the Wind.

"Aniki, we've got trouble," said a voice and Itachi turned to see his brother entering the room where he currently was in, watching over the princess and her best friend. His younger brother was dressed in a dark blue high collared shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back with a pair of dark pants and black combat boots. A nodachi was also strapped to his back, his shinobi badge – with the Wind Kingdom's symbol done in white with an outline of green, the badge itself being in the colour of blue – the Wind Kingdom's royal colours – identifying himself as a squad captain – pinned on the collar of his shirt. A weapons pouch was fastened around his waist, a kunai holster on his thigh.

Itachi had the same badge as well, though rumours were circulating that the Captain of Wind Kingdom's shinobi forces would be stepping down in a year or so and that he's considering Itachi to be his successor. The older Uchiha was dressed in a similar fashion as his brother, only that his shirt was black in colour and he wore black fingerless gloves with metal guards on the back, and he wore ankle-length black combat boots, his nodachi strapped on his back.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother. "What is it?"

"We've received some word from one of the border patrol teams," said his brother, not noticing the fact that the princess and Udon were currently both staring at Sasuke and Itachi both, but if he did, he simply don't care.

"Yeah?"

"The prince from the Fire Kingdom is on his way here with his escort from the Fire," explained Sasuke. "And from what the border patrol guards stated, they're currently under attack from shinobis from the Sound Kingdom...along with a number of demons."

"And the border patrol guards didn't try to help them?" Itachi asked, an incredulous expression on his face.

"They couldn't even if they wanted to," said Sasuke tiredly. "From what reports stated, the Fire representative is on an extremely fast horse, but she _did_ take down ten of the Oto shinobis, leaving only the demons after her."

Itachi frowned. "What kind of demons?"

"Ogre-Dragoon."

"Damn," muttered Itachi. "Come on."

**

* * *

**Shiki cursed to herself as she weaved in and out of the several trees growing on the plains, trying to shake the demons off her tail, but she was not succeeding. Natsu was getting tired as well, and Shiki can't blame the horse especially since they had been running at full speed since afternoon and it's nearly evening by now.

Shiki growled. She had no other choice. Konohamaru blinked as Shiki threw the cloak over his head and turned to look at her, still under the cloak. "Shiki?"

"Stay down!" said Shiki before gripping the reins of Natsu's with one hand, the other hand forming single-handed handseals – much to Konohamaru's disbelief as there were _very few _ninjas who can form single-handed handseals – the only ones who could in Fire Kingdom were Haku, Gaara and the king. And now, Shiki was added to the list. Shiki growled as her left hand glowed blue with her chakra and she announced her jutsu, "Hyouton: Diamond Dust!"

Ice immediately surrounded the demons that were slowly closing in on them, immediately freezing them into ice-cubes before Shiki snapped her fingers and the ice-cubes shattered into pieces. Shiki pulled on Natsu's reins, bringing the horse to a stop and the redhead sighed. "That should do it," she muttered.

The redhead's sharp ears then caught the sound of a demon's growl and she snapped her head up to see a sole Ogre-Dragoon leaping towards them, it's claws outstretched and Shiki growled, reaching for her sword, yet knowing quite well that it's too late to do anything when...

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"_

A voice roared out and acting by instinct, Shiki made Konohamaru crouched down atop Natsu, pressing her body above him as she could feel the heat of the fire jutsu just breeze past her. There was a loud shriek of the demon before it faded away and Shiki looked up to see two raven-haired shinobis who look a lot like each other before her, both on horseback as well. The older of the two had his hands in a handseal – identifying himself as the one who had used that jutsu.

Shiki sighed in relief as she noticed the Wind Kingdom's shinobi badges on their shirt collars and that they're both of squad captain rank. Shiki got down from Natsu and the two other shinobis followed suit before walking towards Shiki who had one of her hands looped around the reins of Natsu as the horse looked as if he would love nothing more than to chew the two shinobis before him to pieces, a fact that the two noticed as they kept well away from the irritated horse as they approached Shiki.

"Are you Namikaze Shiki from the Fire Kingdom?" asked the older of the two, having heard of the name of the escort from the Fire Kingdom from the king.

Shiki nodded. "Are you shinobis from Wind Kingdom?" she asked.

"Yes," said the younger of the two with a nod. "I'm sorry that we couldn't get here earlier. We've received word from one of our border patrol teams that you have some trouble from Oto and demons, and came to help...though I see that you've handled yourself well." He added, eyeing the shattered frozen bodies of the demons on the ground.

"What are you names?" asked Shiki with a frown.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," said the younger of the two with a smirk. "A squad captain from the Wind Kingdom. This is my elder brother and also a squad captain in Wind Kingdom." He gestured towards his older look-alike.

"Uchiha Itachi," said the older teen with a smirk. "Nice to meet you."


	6. Wind Kingdom

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters

* * *

**Chapter Six: Wind Kingdom**

Shiki was relieved when the capital city of Wind Kingdom along with the palace finally came into view. The redhead had been quite jumpy ever since the Uchiha brothers had made their appearance, especially with the attack of the demons and the Oto-nins, and neither brother can blame her.

All shinobis of squad captain rank were prone to taking on the more reckless and dangerous missions which left them feeling quite jumpy and paranoid for days that if things got too bad for a shinobi in Wind, one of the shinobi counsellors usually lock said shinobi in a room for days until they calmed down and got in control of themselves.

The moment that the three shinobis with the one prince arrived at the capital city, one of the stable boys arrived to take their horses away to the stable, though Shiki had enough sense to warn the guy about Natsu's odd behaviour and quirks which caused him to do lots of 'things' with his teeth.

A silver-haired shinobi with gravity defying hair and wearing a black facemask met the group at the gates of the palace when Itachi and Sasuke led Shiki and Konohamaru there. Sasuke later introduced the man as Hatake Kakashi, one of the highest ranking shinobis in the ranks of Wind Kingdom and was the shinobi mentor of both himself and his brother when they were rookies.

The man then led Konohamaru away, despite the prince's protests, and Itachi and Sasuke then led Shiki to the audience chamber where the king of the Wind Kingdom stood waiting.

The queen of the Wind Kingdom had died several years ago when the princess was still a baby, and the king had never remarried, thus leaving the kingdom without a queen, yet this had never been much of a problem for the kingdom.

The king of Wind Kingdom smiled as the three shinobis entered the audience chamber and saluted him with their hands crossed over their chests. "Welcome to Wind Kingdom," said the king. "I've heard that you've had some trouble with Oto whilst on your way here. I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," said Shiki. "Fire Kingdom has been having some problems with Oto recently as well, though they have never attacked us outright before."

"I…see…" said the king with a smile. "May I have the scroll from the king and queen of Fire Kingdom?"

"Yes," said Shiki, reaching into her pouch and pulling out the scroll that Jiraiya had given her to hand to the king of Wind Kingdom. Itachi took the scroll from her before handing it to the king. All shinobis of all the various kingdoms had this aspect of foreign kingdoms' diplomatic manners practically drilled into their heads. When handing a scroll to the king or queen of a foreign kingdom, a shinobi from said kingdom will be the one to hand the scroll to the leaders of their country. This is to prevent assassinations from being carried out right beneath the nose of the shinobis of the kingdom.

There were a few minutes as the king read the contents of the scroll before nodding and rolling up the scroll. "I accept the terms and conditions of the alliance between Fire and Wind," said the king. "Tsunade also mentioned in the scroll that Oto has been giving the Fire some problems as well. Rest assured that the prince will be well-protected here during his time staying here, and that I also expect for my daughter to be given the same amount of respect and protection that she had here once time comes for her to be heading over to the Fire."

Shiki nodded. "Rest assured that we'll protect the princess with our lives, Your Majesty, once the time comes," she said solemnly and the king smiled and nodded.

"Alright, onto business," said the king, glancing at the two Uchiha brothers who were also present in the audience chamber alongside Shiki. "First, I must apologise for any rudeness that you've encountered from my people in the past, due to the shaky alliance between both our kingdoms in the past. The reason behind the marriage between my daughter and the prince of Fire Kingdom is to solidify our alliance and to prevent war from breaking out between both our kingdoms. I understand the concerns of the king and queen of Fire Kingdom, and agree with their request to have you stay in Wind Kingdom for as long as necessary to ensure that the prince will be safe here during his stay in the Wind to get to know his fiancée and any Wind customs that he need to know."

Shiki nodded slowly. She had explained this to Konohamaru when the prince was asking her why he needed to learn about the Wind traditions and customs. Wind and Fire have different customs and traditions, and once the prince become the king, he will have to deal with Wind diplomats personally, and if he do not know the customs and traditions of the Wind and unknowingly pissed them off, things can get very ugly.

"Itachi and Sasuke here are the guards of my daughter and also her tutors," said the king, gesturing towards the two Uchiha brothers standing on either side of Shiki. "And from what was stated in the scroll that Jiraiya and Tsunade had sent me, you're the tutor of the prince of Fire Kingdom as well, is that right?" Shiki nodded. "Tsunade has asked you to help Wind with some of our missions during your time in the Wind until it's time for you to head back." Shiki nodded, having heard about this from the king before she had left. "As for your lodgings, the Uchiha clan head and his wife – the parents of Itachi and Sasuke – had kindly agreed to have you stay with them." The king paused. "Things will begin for real tomorrow. Have a good rest."

All three shinobis nodded before saluting the king and excusing themselves.

**

* * *

**For some reason or other, Shiki soon found herself doing missions mostly with the Uchiha brothers, or one of them, as at least one of them must remain with the prince and the princess, along with the princess's aide, Miyugi Udon at all times.

Thankfully, Konohamaru and the princess, Moegi, got along well and seemed almost as if they have been friends all their lives. Udon, on the other hand, was a quiet boy who always sits in a corner with a picture book whilst the prince and the princess played whatever game they wanted with the shinobis keeping a sharp eye on them.

The same goes with the three shinobis.

Sasuke got along better with Shiki as they were both the same age and had more in common, but Itachi seemed to be the one who understood Shiki more, for some odd reason. Shiki however, was extremely observant, especially since she's a shinobi for a reason, and her job is to be observant, and from day one, she can tell that something is up with Udon. Three days later, she knew what the problem is…

Shiki walked up to Udon one day when the prince and the princess were drawing some pictures in their picture books and giggling over something, and Itachi was leaning against a tree not too far from them both, keeping an eye on them.

"You're…Miyugi Udon, right?" said Shiki in a soft voice and the bespectacled boy looked up at Shiki from the picture book that he was drawing in and nodded silently. "Come with me."

Udon obeyed and followed Shiki behind some trees until she was sure that no one can overhear them before turning to face the younger boy. "I'll get straight to the point," said Shiki. "How long have you known the princess?"

Udon blinked, not expecting this question. "Huh? Nearly all my life," said the boy. "Why?"

"You like the princess, don't you?" said Shiki bluntly, and seeing Udon's eyes widened in shock, she knew that she had hit the nail on the head, and sighed. "I knew it."

"H-How did you know?"

Shiki sighed. "You're a ninja-in-training, Udon, you should know this," she said patiently. "I'm a ninja. It's my job to be observant. Listen to me carefully. You should know this by now. You're treading on extremely dangerous waters here. The marriage between the prince and the princess is a political marriage between two kingdoms. It may be an old ancient law used by the kingdoms of old, but it _is _still used now, although not often. No matter how much they hated it, they can't back out of it. I told the prince this when we heard about it, and he understands his duty. I'm sure that the princess does too. They may be young, but they are still members of the royal family, and as such, they need to fulfill their duty to their individual kingdoms. And besides, the prince and princess got along well now. It's only a matter of time before feelings grow between them." Shiki sighed, feeling bad for the boy before her. "You _can't _be with the princess, Udon. You can only be a friend and a bodyguard to her, even if the prince never existed. Nothing more. Please remember that. A commoner and royalty being together is _strictly forbidden _and frowned upon."

"I know," said Udon miserably. "I know this all along. But I can't help it!"

Shiki sighed. "Try to hide it as best as you can and forget about your feelings for the princess," she said. "If even _I _noticed, I'm sure that the Uchiha brothers have noticed as well. I've only been here for less than a week, and I've already noticed this. I'm pretty sure that those two did as well."

Udon nodded miserably and Shiki smiled before patting him on his back and pushing him back towards the direction where they had came from originally. "Now head back," she said gently. "The princess must be wondering where you've gone."

Udon smiled and nodded before leaving.

Shiki sighed before looking up the tree that she was standing beneath. "Is this enough?" she asked before Uchiha Itachi leapt down from the tree.

"You're being a little harsh on the kid, don't you think so?" commented the older Uchiha and Shiki snorted.

"I'll rather be harsh now than have his heart truly and well broken once they ended up married when they both turn eighteen," she said. "You and I both know that it's better to clarify his standing. They may be childhood friends, but she's still this kingdom's princess."

Itachi sighed. "If the princess wasn't born a member of the royal family, he might still be able to be together with her, but as it is…" He trailed off.

Shiki sighed. "Yeah," she said. "It might be hard, but it's better for him to forget about her and find someone else."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"…okay, so in Wind, the ancient marriage laws for the noble clans involved that the female party of the marriage is not allowed to have any interaction with any males other than their fiancé and is also to abide by their fiancé's wishes in any matters?"

Itachi nodded, having been instructed by the king to go over the ancient laws and customs of the Wind Kingdom with Shiki, whilst Sasuke was the shinobi guarding the prince and the princess that day. The two were currently in the Uchiha clan house, with several scrolls and books scattered over the table as Shiki took down the occasional notes.

"That law was abolished now, though there are times when there are usages of this law," said Itachi. "But usually, this has to go through the clan heads of the individual clans or the guardians of the parties involved…"

"They make a cute couple, don't you think?" said Uchiha Mikoto with a smile, bringing in another stack of training clothes belonging to her two sons to mend into the kitchen where her husband was sitting at the table, having a cup of tea and reading a newspaper, occasionally looking at his son and their guest in the sitting room.

"Yeah, they do," said Fugaku before he blinked and looked at his wife, noticing the mischievous smile on his wife's face. "Mikoto, don't tell me…"

"Yes," said Mikoto with a nod. "I am thinking of bringing them together. Itachi's old enough to be looking for a wife now, and none of the girls in Wind had ever caught his eye before. And besides, I like that Shiki girl. Don't you?"

Both Fugaku and Mikoto have taken to Shiki the first time that they had met her. The girl was polite and didn't treat them like they're royalty, and was comfortable with them as well as their sons. She didn't seem to mind putting Sasuke in his place especially after he had said something perverted once, and Shiki had nailed him on the head, much to Fugaku and Mikoto's amusement. The girl even helped Mikoto with the dishes whenever she's present during the night when she's not on missions, which Mikoto is grateful for.

"Well, it's true that she's not like other girls and she's also an excellent kunoichi," mumbled Fugaku, recalling the times when he had seen the girl sparring with his sons. "But…"

"I won't force them into an engagement if they aren't willing," said Mikoto with a smile. "Let's see how things turn out first."

**

* * *

**Two days later marked the start of the engagement party for the prince and the princess. And even though it was a party, Shiki was technically still on duty, and thus, had to put on her more formal shinobi clothing for this before helping Konohamaru to dress up for the party.

He was dressed in a dark blue formal kimono with white linings as Shiki looked him over and nodded. "Okay, you're ready," she said before holstering the cloth holster holding her sword on her back.

Konohamaru studied his tutor to see that she had a sullen expression on her face. Usually, a shinobi can mask their emotions really well, but he had known Shiki ever since he was five years old and can tell what she's feeling.

"You look like you're about to face a firing squad, neesan," commented Konohamaru.

"Well, I hate parties," said Shiki.

"Me too," said Konohamaru. "I heard that Itachi-niisan will be there as well."

"W-Well, yes, since he's one of the princess's guards," said Shiki.

Konohamaru grinned mischievously.

"What?"

"He's kind of handsome, isn't he, neesan?"

Shiki wished that there wasn't a rule where you couldn't hit royalty.


	7. Tragedy

Sorry for the late update, and a Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that you all had a great time at the New Year party and had made some resolutions for the new year. Anyway, so sorry for the delay in updates. This chapter will be on the Uchiha massacre and the first appearance of the Akatsuki!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universe setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Tragedy**

_Two Months Later:_

"Do Wind have to deal with this all the time?" asked Shiki incredulously in the sitting room of the Uchiha clan house where herself, Itachi and Sasuke were sorting out the classification of missions in Wind. There was a mission for the retrieval of a desert flower, more requests for medic-nins to help out in the hospital because of some ridiculous game that the children were playing recently called underwater badminton which Shiki do not want to know about, and more.

"I'm afraid so," said Sasuke sullenly. "Our administration department are currently up to their necks in work after the princess's engagement party and we have to help out with this."

There was a sudden sharp knock on the door just then and all three shinobis perked up as Uchiha Mikoto opened the door. A ninja stood outside the door, dressed in the black uniform which identified him as one of the bodyguards of the king and he saluted to his superiors in the room.

"My apologies, but you have a summons from the king," said the shinobi.

Shiki, Sasuke and Itachi exchanged looks before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. One thing is of certain in all the royal kingdoms; when the king or queen summons you, you come, and you come quickly.

**

* * *

**_Audience Chamber:_

"Meefas?" echoed Sasuke as the king filled the three captains in on the situation.

The king nodded warily, reading from a scroll that he had in his hands. "There is a small town named Karioko somewhere to the west, and it should be a day long journey on horseback," he said. "I have a letter of plea from one of the oracles serving in the church not far from the town, and apparently, the head oracle had commissioned Meefa hunting once more."

Itachi frowned. "But aren't Meefa hunting banned?" he asked. "It's a crime to hunt them. They're nearly extinct, as it is."

The king nodded. "That's right," he said. "Meefas are sacred animals in the Wind Kingdom. It is said that they're divine animals sent by the one of the four gods of the universe – Suzaku, the vermillion bird of fire herself. Find out just why they're hunting Meefas again and stop them. If this goes on…Meefas may just go extinct this time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was a week later when Sasuke, Itachi and Shiki came back to the Wind Kingdom, with the head oracle tied up and gagged on the back of Itachi's horse which the king immediately ordered him thrown into the prison.

Apparently, the head oracle was the one that had commissioned Meefa hunting without even asking for permission from the capital which is a capital offence in itself. Sasuke wasn't very gentle with the head oracle when they found several Meefa skins in the room of the head oracle. The two Uchiha brothers were nearly afraid for their own lives for a second as Shiki looked as if she would love nothing more than to skin the head oracle alive.

Meefas lived in the royal gardens of Wind and they were the princess's friends ever since she was a child. Shiki were quite fond of those little animals as they were so friendly and loved for her to pat them or even play with them.

Itachi has to practically drag Shiki off the head oracle as the girl practically broke every bone in his body by punting him through three walls. Sasuke pitied the oracles at the church who has to repair the walls, but the oracles weren't too upset about it. In fact, they were pleased to see the head oracle go with the three shinobis and placed five of the oracles at the entrance of the forest where the Meefas dwell so that hunters wouldn't go after them until the king can send shinobis to guard the forest and put up the Meefa hunting law in the town again.

The king was not happy as well, and the three shinobis involved in the capture of the head oracle knew that he's not going to get away easily. The lightest sentence for him would be life imprisonment in the prison, and the worst would be death.

"I hope the king kills him," grumbled Shiki on the night when they returned as the two Uchiha brothers and the one Fire kunoichi walked the usual route back to the Uchiha compound.

Itachi rolled his eyes and Sasuke who had his hands clasped behind his head as he walked snorted in laughter. "Seriously, Shiki, I think that whatever the king will do to him will pale in comparison to what _you _did to him back in the church," said the younger Uchiha with a chuckle. "All the oracles of the church turned a blind eye and mysteriously went blind and deaf when you started punting him through three walls and proceeded to break every bone in his body…even his…er…most prized possession."

Itachi chuckled weakly. "Yeah. I don't think that not a person in western Wind Kingdom heard the head oracle's screams and cries for help," he said. "And if that doesn't discourage Meefa hunting, I don't know what else would."

Shiki rolled her eyes in annoyance. Alright, perhaps she went a little too far by first punting the head oracle through three walls the moment he opened the door to his room when they arrived at the door, armed with a warrant for arrest. Then breaking every bone in his body…followed by his pelvis…as well as his most prized possession… Okay…maybe she went a little too far…

Shiki frowned as they rounded around the corner and the Uchiha clan compound came into sight, stopping dead in her tracks. "Hey. Why are all the lights off?"

Itachi and Sasuke blinked before noticing that the lights of the Uchiha clan compound are off. Usually, the lights of the Uchiha district will be turned on, lighting the areas up and welcoming back the shinobis of the clan back home after a long and hard day. Never before had all the lights went out.

The wind changed directions just then, blowing it directly towards Itachi, Shiki and Sasuke's general directions, and all three shinobis stiffened and went rigid as they smell the unmistakably scent of blood. All shinobis have extremely acute senses, honed by years of training, and they could pick up the scent of blood faintly.

Shiki, Itachi and Sasuke exchanged glances before they broke into a run, stopping in their tracks at the entrance of the Uchiha clan compound. Itachi knelt by the broken bodies of the two guards that usually guard the Uchiha compound, examining the bodies. Stab wounds were all over their bodies and the blood was still fresh.

"They don't seem to have been dead long," said Itachi, narrowing his eyes, rubbing his fingers against the bloodstains on the dead body, finding that the bloodstains are still fresh. "The culprit must still be here somewhere. Sasuke, alert the king and get backup here. I'll go with Shiki to find the culprit _or_ culprits and any survivors…if there are any…" He trailed off, and even though he didn't say it out loud, all three shinobis present knew that there is a very slim chance that there are any survivors save for themselves.

Itachi hated to do it, but he couldn't run off to check on his parents first. He was a shinobi first and foremost, and his sole priority is to find the culprit or culprits who did it and to search for any survivors. A Wind shinobi was needed to inform the king of the happenings and he couldn't trust Sasuke not to go off the deep end if they ever found the bodies of their parents lying somewhere about.

Sasuke nodded, pale in the face, before turning around and running towards the direction of the palace. Itachi and Shiki exchanged looks before entering the clan compound, both of them looking quite sick at the dead bodies that littered the ground as well as the huge splotches of blood on the ground and on the walls of the clan compound.

"My God…" muttered Shiki, looking around at the compound. "Who could have done this?"

"Lots," said Itachi grimly. "The Uchiha clan isn't that popular with the other kingdoms save for Fire, Demon and Spring. Especially since we're heavily involved during the last few wars that occurred throughout history."

A shadow filtering away caught the attention of Itachi and Shiki just then, and they both sprang in action. Shiki, being a female, was faster in speed and soon caught up to that shadow within moments, knocking the unknown shinobi backwards by a kick to the chest, sending him backwards a few meters.

Itachi soon caught up to Shiki, and the two soon faced the sight of a silver-haired shinobi in a white and purple shinobi attire with a shinobi badge shining on his collar which was quite familiar to the two. Shiki went rigid and Itachi stiffened in shock.

That was the symbol of the Sound Kingdom.

"Itachi?" voiced Shiki. She knew what the policy in her own kingdom was regarding the Sound Kingdom especially since the Sound totally wiped out a certain kingdom that is on very close terms with majority of the kingdoms out there save for the few that are on bad terms with them. Fire Kingdom's policy is to kill on sight regarding any Sound shinobis, but she wasn't sure about Wind's policy.

"Kill on sight," was all Itachi said, and that was all that Shiki needed.

The unknown Oto-nin stiffened and grabbed a kunai from within the sleeves of his coat and held it before him in a threatening way. It was two against one now, and anyone with even half a brain knew who the victors would be, especially since Itachi looked as if he would love nothing more than to gut the Oto-nin's brains out and to skin him alive.

Shiki narrowed her eyes before drawing out her sword from the cloth holster on her back slowly. The Uchiha clan were almost like family to her during her time in Wind and Itachi's parents were good to her as well. Mikoto was almost like a mother to her, and Fugaku treated her well as well. She wondered, several times in the past, if this is what it felt like to have parents.

"Strike to kill," said Shiki in an extremely dangerous voice and the temperature of the surrounding area seemed to drop several degrees, "Diamond Snow!"

There was a bright flash of light before snowflakes and icicles surrounded the Oto-nin, freezing his feet to the ground, virtually imprisoning him. Naiya Senka – Shiki's wakizashi – had several abilities and commands, depending on the type of elemental attack used. Shiki had it commissioned from a master sword-smith who lived just outside the Demon Kingdom when she had just graduated from the Academy. Naiya Senka (Diamond Snow) is the single most powerful and beautiful elemental-based sword in the entirety of the Fire Kingdom.

Shiki turned towards Itachi who was staring at her with a gob-smacked expression. "He's yours," she said, and Itachi nodded before unsheathing his nodachi on his back and walking towards the terrified Oto shinobi who was staring at Shiki as if seeing her for the first time before looking back at Itachi with a look as if the Devil had just came for his soul. He then turned back towards Shiki and spoke for the first time.

"You…" he said. "You're the Uz—"

But whatever that he wanted to say died in his throat as Itachi stabbed the blade of his nodachi through the throat of the Oto-nin, killing him instantly. Itachi then pulled the blade of his nodachi out, watching with an uncaring expression as the Oto-nin collapsed to his feet, blood pooling around his throat.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shiki caught sight of a shadow filtering across the rooftops and turned back towards Itachi. "I'll be right back," she said and Itachi nodded, cleaning his sword before the redhead took to the rooftops.

Itachi frowned, looking at the disappearing back of his friend. He could tell from the tone of her voice that Shiki didn't want him to follow. But what was that that the Oto-nin whom he killed about to say? Uz—what?

Itachi's eyebrows shot up as a sudden thought struck him. _'Uzu? Whirlpool?'_

**

* * *

**The Oto-nin breathed heavily, ducking behind the walls in the maze of the Uchiha clan compound. When Wind Kingdom was first founded hundreds of years ago, the Uchiha clan was one of the founding clans that helped the first king to rule the kingdom and help out with the security measures. As such, the Uchiha clan took the safety and security of their own people very seriously, even going as much as to build a maze-like compound for the whole clan as a whole, several of whom are just ordinary civilians, and not shinobis. And unless you are an Uchiha who had lived all your life in this very compound, you can get lost, which explains why a guest living in the Uchiha clan compound needs a guide to navigate through. And this is why the Oto-nin now found himself lost.

He knew that the female companion of that Uchiha who had killed his twin had seen him running across the rooftops and had taken after him. One trait about female ninjas is that majority of them excelled in speed, and most of them are faster than male ninjas.

He had the shock of his life when his twin communicated with him through the telepathy link which they shared regarding the female companion of the Uchiha brothers when she had used the ice attack on his brother. As far as they knew, the only one who can use ice and wind elemental techniques to that level is the royal family of the now destroyed Whirlpool Kingdom. Not even the king from Fire or the king from the Wind can use wind and ice elemental techniques to the Whirlpool Kingdom's level. That is only one reason why the Whirlpool Kingdom was so powerful and why Sound feared them so much.

The Oto-nin breathed heavily, peeking out from the corner to see nothing but darkness before determining it safe enough to leave the corner. He knew that it's only a matter of time before the younger Uchiha brother brought backup with him. It was merely a thirty minute walk from the Uchiha clan compound to the palace and they would be here soon enough, then it would be nearly impossible for him to escape.

'_I have to tell__…' _thought the Oto-nin as he ran. _'The…Uzu Princess…still lives…'_

The wind changed direction just then, and the Oto-nin sensed the sharp chakra spike of the female ninja and he stiffened, looking in several directions at once, readying a kunai. Out of nowhere, the redhead appeared in front of him, her blue orbs cold and calculating – the eyes of a true killer – and the Oto-nin cursed.

"Shit!"

"Die."

The Oto-nin only felt the blade went through his body, into his chest, into his heart, and he looked into the cold eyes of the redhead and detected the faintest signs of hatred and anger in her eyes as he coughed out blood.

'_I…have failed…' _he thought before he collapsed and darkness overcome him and he knew no more.

**

* * *

**Shiki drew out her sword from the Oto-nin's body before he fell to the ground, clearly dead. Shiki cleaned her sword properly; she showed no remorse as she stared at the dead body of the Oto-nin which she had just killed less than a minute ago. In her mind, they deserved this. Wasn't taking her parents away from her enough? They have to take away Itachi and Sasuke's parents too?

Shiki kind of understood why Whirlpool was attacked in the first place. Whirlpool was the first royal kingdom in existence before the other kingdoms were founded by the leading royal families and their individual clans. But the Uchiha clan never did anything to Oto to deserve this! Just what had they done?

All of Shiki's dangers senses went on alert just then and she spun around on one heel and pointed the tip of her sword at the neck of the pale-faced boy who stood behind her, dressed in a black shinobi attire as well, with an unknown shinobi badge pinned on his collar. And judging by the colours of the badge – he's a high-ranking shinobi in whatever kingdom that he was from. Shiki do not recognise the badge and she usually made it a point to study all the shinobi symbols so that she wouldn't cause a political incident by mistaking an ally for an enemy. And as far as she knew, no new kingdoms had been founded so far as Fire and Wind will know if there is.

Shiki frowned, narrowing her eyes as the boy didn't seem to be afraid by having her sword pointed at his neck, just mere seconds from lobbing his head off. "Who are you?" she demanded. The boy kind of looks like Itachi and Sasuke, if truth be told.

"No one," said the boy, a fake smile planted on his face. "But never in my wildest dreams did I dream that I'll see you here."

Shiki narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"I never thought that I will see the Uzu Princess in the shinobis ranks of Fire Kingdom."

Shiki's heart nearly stopped. How the hell did he knew who she was? She has to kill him. No one must know who she is, especially the Oto Kingdom! If that kingdom knew, she'll bring Fire straight into war!

"Don't worry, I'll tell no one," said the boy, a hint of a smirk planted on his face. "I swear on my word and honour as a shinobi."

Shiki looked at him, and she couldn't tell just why, but she felt like she can trust his word. "Who are you?" she asked again.

"The name is Sai," said the boy. "As for who am I, you don't have to know." Sai turned around just then as the faint sound of voices could be heard in the distance and turned back to Shiki with a fake smile planted on his face. "Looks like it's time for me to go. Don't die, Namikaze Shiki."

And with that, he disappeared.

Shiki stared at the spot where he had vanished before Sasuke appeared, with at least two teams of shinobis behind him, clearly relieved to see that she was fine and his eyes went to the dead body of the Oto-nin at her feet and his eyebrows raised.

"Another one?" mused Sasuke. "Are you okay, Shiki?"

"Yeah," said Shiki with a nod, sheathing her sword. "How about Itachi?"

"He's alright," said Sasuke with a shrug. He then sighed. "Come on, we need to get to the palace. Leave the cleanup to the others."

Shiki nodded.

**

* * *

**_Audience Chamber:_

The king nearly groaned when he received the report from the Uchiha brothers, Shiki, as well as the Captain of the shinobi forces in Wind Kingdom. "Practically the _entire_ clan?" he asked again.

The Captain nodded solemnly. "658 in all, Your Majesty," said the shinobi. "The only survivors are Itachi and Sasuke. We're now following procedure by doing the cremation for the clan as a whole."

The king nodded. "Very well," said the king wearily. "I'll give the Uchiha brothers as well as the guest from the Fire a few days off in order for them to mourn. They are _not_ to be disturbed."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two days later, Itachi had collected all the belongings belonging to himself and his brother, as well as Shiki's, out of the Uchiha clan compound before moving to the new apartment that Sasuke had bought a little way away from the Uchiha clan compound, yet not too far away from the heart of town.

Sasuke had taken the deaths of the clan and their parents surprisingly well, and Itachi suspected that his mentor, Hatake Kakashi had spoken to him regarding this incident. The bodies of the Uchiha clan members have been cremated and buried, following procedure so that enemy kingdoms would not get their secrets.

The older Uchiha was currently atop the hill near the borders of the capital where no one ever goes to. He always comes here in order to unwind or when he needs to think, and he needed to do some thinking right now.

Oto's attack on the Uchiha clan…he can understand that. The Uchihas have been a thorn in their flesh for several years now, especially since they were the ones who had taken out majority of the Sound forces in the last war. But what he was dwelling on isn't about Oto or his now dead clan. It was the words of the Oto-nin that he had killed two days ago.

_You're the Uz—_

Itachi chewed on his bottom lip as he shifted his position on the large oak tree that he was sitting on, watching the sunset. _'Uz—what?' _he thought. _'The only thing that I can think of is Uzu, the Whirlpool Kingdom. Could Shiki have been a survivor from that kingdom? A member from one of their major shinobi clans? If so, why didn't we know anything about it? A survivor from Whirlpool is a great deal…especially to the other kingdoms. I can understand it if Shiki wanted to keep this quiet, but wouldn't the king have said anything if she indeed is from the Whirlpool Kingdom? But is she __**even **__from Whirlpool? She said that she grew up in an orphanage in the Fire before she went to Konoha to attend the Academy. Did I make a mistake? Or is she simply especially skilled with wind and ice techniques?'_

Itachi practically gave himself a migraine with all the thinking that he's doing that he nearly had a heart attack when Shiki suddenly spoke from below him.

"You're indeed here."

Itachi looked down to see Shiki leaning against the trunk of the tree that he was sitting in, her hands shoved into her pockets, looking out at the sunset. Itachi blinked. "What are you doing here? And how did you know that I'm here?"

Shiki shrugged. "Just a hunch," she said. "Sasuke had finished moving all your things into your apartment now. I think Kakashi took Sasuke to the bar or something to unwind."

Itachi nodded slowly. Knowing his brother, Kakashi probably dragged him by force to the bar since his little brother _don't_ drink, claiming that he is underage. If he hadn't seen Kakashi in action, he wouldn't have believed that the masked shinobi is one of the best in Wind Kingdom…what with his fetish for his reading material…

"Are you looking for me for anything?"

Shiki looked up at him before focusing her attention back to the sunset. "Not exactly," she said, pausing. There was silence for a few moments before she spoke again. "How are you doing?"

Itachi shrugged. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm a shinobi, Shiki. I've been trained mentally as well as physically. We're trained to deal with losses like this."

Shiki nodded. Part of shinobi training in the senior and sophomore years at the Academy as well as shinobi training after graduation is mental training so that shinobis wouldn't crack and do something stupid after a mission failed and their friends or family died. Ninjas kill themselves all the time when things go wrong, but it was very rare for that to happen.

Itachi fidgeted. "I…" he began, bringing Shiki's attention to him. "I want to be strong. To be stronger…for my brother…for my friends…for myself."

Shiki stared at him for a moment without speaking before she sighed. "I've heard that before," she muttered, running her fingers through her windblown hair. "My best friend, Haku, said that to me once. But all of us knew…that being strong isn't just what a shinobi is about."

Itachi stared at her and Shiki sighed.

"The king told me this once," she said. "I am Konohamaru's tutor from when he was five-years-old, and I am on relatively good terms with the king and queen of Fire Kingdom. You want to be strong, Itachi. But remember one thing, learning all the ninja techniques in the world will not give you real strength."

"Real strength, huh?" mused Itachi. "I've heard that before. My mother told me the same thing."

Shiki nodded. "When you fight to protect those precious to you, that is when you're truly strong," she said. She sighed and looked at Itachi. "Do you know what the three fundamental codes of the shinobi are?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow before reciting the three codes of the shinobi fundamentals that have been drilled into his head since his Academy days. "Strength, Honour and Courage," he said.

Shiki nodded. "If you can't tell me that, then you might as well go back to the Academy," she teased, and Itachi chuckled. "The king told me this, and I told Konohamaru this. As a shinobi, if we're going to die, at least die with honour. One thing that we must never do is that we must _never_ betray our friends or our honour."

Itachi studied Shiki carefully. "Is there a reason why you said that?" he asked.

Shiki shrugged. "All ninjas took an oath the day when we received our badge," she said. "It's the same for me. We swore to protect the royal family of our kingdom as well as the kingdom itself until the day of our death. I made a promise that day: even if I'm going to die, at least I will die with honour."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_In another part of Fire Kingdom:_

"Everything looks fine," said Hyuuga Neji, turning to his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata who nodded. Both of them are deployed out as a border patrol pair, ensuring that their part of the kingdom is fine.

Hinata who was looking in several directions at once suddenly went rigid and stiffened. "Neji, what is that?" she asked, pointing a finger towards some random direction and Neji spun around on his heels only to have his eyes nearly bulging out.

There was some orange glow in the distance – too faint for normal human eyes to pick out, but for shinobi senses, it was no problem for them to pick out that glow immediately as a fire – a pretty large one, in fact, judging by the size and colour of that glow.

"Fire?" mused Neji before turning to his cousin. "Come on, let's go and check it out."

Hinata nodded before both mounted their horses and went towards the direction of the fire that they had seen.

**

* * *

**It took both Neji and Hinata less than twenty minutes to arrive at the vicinity of the fire only to see that the building that was burning down was none other than an orphanage. Neji's eyes went wide and Hinata went pale. Both their hearts nearly stopped.

If it's anything worse than a fire, it's a fire that is slowly destroying a building that may have several children trapped inside. Neji immediately sprang to business. "Hinata, we'll have to find any survivors that may be trapped inside," he said quickly, leaping off his horse in one smooth fluid motion which Hinata followed suit. "It's too late to stop the fire. Come on, hurry!"

Hinata nodded before both Hyuugas tied their hankies around their noses and mouths so that they wouldn't inhale the smoke and entered the burning building without any hesitation. The moment that they're inside, both Neji and Hinata went into separate directions. Luckily for them that the orphanage was only one storey high and that it wasn't very large as it is which makes it easier for them to find any survivors that may be trapped inside.

Neji coughed, covering his nose and mouth with one arm as he kicked down the door of one of the rooms which he presumed was a dormitory only to see that the room was dark and that there was no one inside. The same goes to the remaining four dormitories in the orphanage before he arrived to one room which had the tag 'Office' on the door which he assumed was the office of the caretaker of the orphanage before he kicked the door down and he coughed harshly, his eyes watering as the smoke immediately rushed out, and he assumed that this was the room where the fire started.

Neji's sharp eyes spotted a limp body lying on the floor, far away from the door, and his heart nearly stopped when he realised that the body wasn't moving. Apparently, whoever this was had crawled to the far end of the room in order to escape the fire, and Neji prayed to all the gods in existence that this person wasn't dead.

Neji entered the room, dodging the falling chunks of plaster from the ceiling which was burning and reached the limp body before noticing that it was a male, probably in his late twenties or early thirties and he had injuries all over his body which _definitely_ wasn't from the fire. And clutched in the man's hand was a kunai which had the symbol of the Sound Kingdom engraved in the tip and there were several shurikens scattered all around his body.

Neji narrowed his eyes dangerously as he pried the kunai out of the man's hand, slipping it into his pocket before gathering up a few of the shurikens as well before holstering the man over his shoulder, but not before he untied the hanky around his nose and tied it around the man's nose and mouth before making his way out of the burning orphanage.

He finally made it outside just as the building collapsed, and noticed to his relief that his cousin was already outside, coughing harshly because of the smoke that she had somehow inhaled, despite the hanky tied around her nose and mouth.

"Is he the only person inside?" asked Hinata, coughing harshly as Neji laid the man on the grass, untying the hanky around his nose and mouth and attempting CPR to revive the man.

"Yeah," said Neji grimly before a sudden thought struck him as Hinata took over the revival of the man, the girl being a medic-nin. Neji turned immediately to the burning building only to see the mailbox outside the white gates surrounding the orphanage and noticed the words 'Hope Orphanage' written on it. "Hinata, isn't this the orphanage where Shiki and the others grew up in?! They told me about it in the Academy!"

Hinata stopped doing CPR, her face one of shock as she turned to face her cousin and saw the name of the orphanage that had her mouthing 'Hope Orphanage' wordlessly before paling instantly. Both Hyuugas knew that the orphanage and the caretaker of the orphanage meant a lot to their friends.

"Shit!" Neji cursed before he whistled for his horse which came running to him instantly. "I'm going to call for medics from the nearest shinobi deport, then I'm calling for backup from headquarters. Hinata, you do what you can to save him!"

Hinata nodded. "Okay!"

As Neji urged his horse to go faster towards the nearest shinobi deport, he only had one thought running through his mind. _'This is no mere accident. There has been a shinobi attack on that orphanage. But why? One thing for sure though; Shiki and the others won't be happy to hear about this.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Three Days Later; Wind Kingdom; Audience Chamber:_

It was the end of the Uchiha brothers' break, and they, along with Shiki, went to the audience chamber of the Wind Palace to report in for duty. The king was looking quite weary and tired and he had a red scroll with the Fire Kingdom's seal on it.

"Reporting in for duty, Your Majesty," said Itachi and the king nodded.

"Welcome back," said the king with a small smile which the brothers returned. He then turned his attention to Shiki. "Shiki, you have an important letter from the king of Fire Kingdom early this morning from Fire Kingdom's fastest messenger. You had better read it."

Shiki nodded before Itachi took the scroll from the king and handed it to Shiki. Everyone in the audience chamber knew that the scroll is of importance as there are different coloured scrolls and messenger bird types to deliver messages. A raven and a black scroll meant that there is a death in the family, and that one family member won't be returning home tonight. A red scroll meant level one emergency. A blue scroll meant that it's from the hospital itself. A green scroll meant that it's a mid-level mission. A brown scroll meant that it's an ordinary summons from the king and queen. And a white scroll meant that it's an extremely important mission, and when the king or queen summon you, you come, and you come quickly.

Shiki broke the seal on the scroll quickly and scanned the contents of the scroll before she went pale and an angry expression entered her eyes before she looked up only to see that Itachi, Sasuke as well as the king were all staring at her.

Shiki took three deep breaths in to calm herself before she spoke. "I'm sorry for this, Your Majesty, especially at a time like this, but His Majesty the King is recalling me back," she said. "It's quite important, and duty calls, I'm afraid."

"It's alright, we understand," said the king with a nod. He had suspected something like this when he saw the red scroll delivered by Fire Kingdom's fastest bird messenger. "Do you need someone to escort you back to the Fire?"

"No, don't bother," said Shiki hastily. "I'll be alright. I'm a ninja, after all. I have to leave at once. If you may explain things to the prince…"

The king understood at once. "Of course," he said. "You may go. I hope that things are alright."

Shiki nodded. "I hope that they are," she said before saluting the king and excusing herself from the audience chamber before breaking into a run back to the apartment of Itachi's and Sasuke's to collect her things before getting Natsu and heading back to the Fire Kingdom, the contents of Jiraiya's letter ringing in her head:

'_Shiki,_

_Hope Orphanage has been attacked three nights ago, and the place has been burned to the ground. Neji and Hinata happened to be in the vicinity on border patrol duty and they managed to save the caretaker – the one who had brought you and your friends up._

_He managed to survive, but he's in critical condition at the hospital now. Shizune is now attending to him with Sakura and Hinata, but she doesn't think that he'll survive. Gaara, Haku, Temari and Kankuro are currently all out on missions, but we've informed them about this since the caretaker had been drifting in and out of unconsciousness and asking for you guys._

_They were told to hurry back, even if it's in the middle of their mission, and we've sent other shinobis to take over their missions. Hurry back as soon as possible – he doesn't have much time left._

_Jiraiya.'_

Shiki gritted her teeth as she ran at full speed to Itachi and Sasuke's apartment.

'_Yahiko__…'_

**

* * *

**It took Shiki less than ten minutes to finish packing her things at the Uchiha brothers' apartment, and Itachi entered the apartment five minutes after her arrival and assisted her in her packing which she is thankful for, trying not to let her panic override her head before leaving a short note for the prince explaining her sudden departure which Itachi promised to hand deliver it to the prince himself as Konohamaru and Moegi are currently in the middle of their lessons before Shiki took off towards the horse stables.

The horse stables are located not too far away from the north gate of the capital, and she had to cut across the marketplace of Wind Kingdom in order to get there. Shiki even bumped into two foreign shinobis, only muttering a hurried 'sorry', not turning to look at them before she hurried to the horse stables.

But if she had been looking at the two shinobis, she would have recognised them immediately from their shinobi attire. Hoshigaki Kisame and Konan stared, wide-eyed, at the redhead who had just bumped into them and hurrying off to who knows where.

They'll recognise that hair and eyes anywhere.

'…_the Princess?!'_

"Konan," said Kisame, finally finding his voice at last. "Is that…?" He trailed off.

Konan nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah," she said. "We've found the Princess."


	8. Reminiscence

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universe setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Reminiscence**

_It was raining heavily and the winds were blowing furiously, causing the windows of Hope Orphanage to rattle slightly and the trees outside the orphanage were bent over so much that Yahiko – the caretaker of the orphanage – feared that the trees might topple over._

_The children of the orphanage under his care – Gaara, Temari, Kankuro and Haku – were currently all huddled together in the same room__…all of them too scared to sleep in their own individual dorms – the boys to one dorm and the girls in another._

_It was the worst downpour that the Fire Kingdom had ever seen…not that Yahiko will know what thunderstorms that the Fire Kingdom had in the past since he wasn't born and bred here. Yahiko's hometown was in the Whirlpool Kingdom. He grew up in a small peaceful village with his childhood friends – Konan and Nagato._

_The three of them were war orphans – their parents having died in the last war – and the people of their village was kind enough to give them food for nothing. Konan was clever with her hands and loved making origami – especially paper birds – and she entertained the children of the village that way. Nagato on the other hand, was an excellent hunter and fighter, and he usually defended the village from bandits and demons. Yahiko on the other hand, was excellent with medical herbs and wood carving and he made a living by making wood carvings and making medicine._

_Then, when the three of them turned fifteen, Konan and Nagato decided to sign up as ninjas in the capital city of Whirlpool Kingdom. Yahiko prefers peace over violence, and although he didn't go with Nagato and Konan on their journey, he left the village as well before ending up somewhere in the Fire Kingdom where he decided to build an orphanage to help war orphans like himself when he was a kid._

_He still kept in contact with Konan and Nagato via letters that they exchanged with each other and Yahiko knew enough that Nagato and Konan both got into the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom's group of elite ninjas – the Akatsuki – and they were both the leaders._

_There were loud bangs on the front door of the orphanage just then, and Yahiko who was putting out the lights of the orphanage frowned as he headed towards the door. The bangs sounded desperate and terrified, and he hurried his pace before he opened the door to see his childhood friend standing at the doorstep of the orphanage, a red-haired five-year-old girl huddled in his arms, dressed in an expensive looking kimono-like attire of pristine blue and white. Nagato's shinobi attire was also torn and he was bleeding profusely from the several wounds on his body and his orange hair was matted down, looking almost red._

_Yahiko blinked several times. "Nagato?!"_

"_Yahiko…" Nagato panted heavily, one hand resting on the doorframe, coughing out huge amounts of blood, whilst putting down the girl in his arms on the ground. Both Yahiko and the girl were horrified to see the crimson liquid._

"_Oi, Nagato! Are you alright?!" Yahiko panicked._

"_I'm fine!" Nagato grunted, brushing off his worries. He then turned serious. "Yahiko, listen. I need a word with you. Just five minutes." He then turned to look at the girl by him before turning back to Yahiko. "Do you think that she can stay here with you?"_

_Yahiko understood what his friend was saying and suspected that there is more to the story before nodding. "Go wait in the kitchen for me, Nagato," he said. "I'll get a fresh change of clothes for her before she catches a cold."_

_Nagato nodded wearily._

_It was five minutes before Yahiko was back in the warm kitchen with Nagato sitting in a chair, dripping rainwater all over his wooden floor, and Yahiko stared mournfully at the trail of rainwater leading from the front door to his kitchen. And he had just cleaned the floor that morning too…_

"_She's asleep." Yahiko informed Nagato who looked incredibly relieved. "I asked her if she wanted to sleep with the other children in my care, but she refused and nearly turned hysterical. I then moved her into my room since she seems terrified. I'll introduce her to the other children once morning comes."_

_Nagato nodded slowly. As always, Yahiko was still as sharp and perceptive as he was when they were children. He seemed to have an inkling as to what had happened and sighed, wincing a little as he pulled on his injuries. He had nursed his injuries as best as he could, bandaging them up with the bandages that he had taken from the first aid kit from Yahiko's kitchen._

_Yahiko sighed as he saw Nagato struggling to bandage his shoulder, part of his coat hanging limp from his body, only wearing a black netted shirt beneath his coat. "Come on, I'll do it," said Yahiko, taking the roll of bandages from Nagato and walking around the table to his friend. "Take off your coat and shirt. I'll treat your injuries. And in the meantime, you can tell me everything that has happened. I can tell that something big had happened. What could have injured you like this?"_

_Nagato removed his coat and his shirt before hanging it over the back of the chair, leaving him in nothing but his pants before Yahiko reached for one of the several glass bottles in a glass cabinet above his head with some coloured liquid in it and rubbed the liquid into his hands before rubbing it against Nagato's wounds gently._

_Nagato hissed in pain before a soothing feeling spread over his wounds and started on his tale, trusting Yahiko to treat his injuries. He's even better than Konan at medical stuff, seeing as how he's the one who had taught Konan all about medical herbs and how to treat illnesses and injuries._

"_So…what happened?" asked Yahiko before removing the bandages that Nagato had applied hastily on himself and bound his injuries properly…but not before rubbing some healing potion into his injuries._

_Nagato sighed. "There was an attack on the Whirlpool Kingdom," he said and Yahiko froze in the middle of applying healing potions into the nasty looking gash on his back. "It was a surprise attack and demons were included into that attack – the Progenitor Wolves." Yahiko took in a sharp intake of breath. "The priestesses and priests of the palace fell first…but not before taking out majority of those demons, and what remaining demons that there are were taken out easily by the shinobi forces."_

"_Who's behind the attack?" asked Yahiko, frowning before bandaging the gash on Nagato's back and moving to his arm next. "Whirlpool is the strongest kingdom out there!"_

_Nagato sighed. "Oto," he said and Yahiko growled._

_The Sound Kingdom was the __**exact **__reason why Yahiko, Nagato and Konan were made war orphans. And that is also the reason why the latter two decided to become ninjas in the first place._

"_And why?" Yahiko nearly growled, applying more force than necessary against Nagato's injuries, causing the guy some unnecessary pain which he winced at…not that Yahiko noticed it._

"_It was…the princess's birthday about a week ago," said Nagato quietly, recalling that joyous event. "All the royal couples and their children of the kingdoms that were on friendly terms and allies with Whirlpool were invited. Oto __**wasn't **__invited, but they came anyway. The king could not possibly risk a war with them by turning them away, and thus, he allowed them entry. To make a long story short, Orochimaru wanted the princess's hand in marriage. The king and queen refused, of course, and anyone with eyes can tell that that is why he's angry."_

"_Let me guess," interrupted Yahiko. "He attacked Whirlpool Kingdom because of an idiotic reason like that?!"_

_Nagato winced at Yahiko's temper. "Yeah, something like that," he said. "An attack occurred on Whirlpool Kingdom less than six hours ago. Nearly the entire shinobi forces were wiped out protecting the king and queen along with the princess, and soon…the only ones left were the Akatsuki. In order to protect…__**something **__that the royal line of Whirlpool had been doing for generations, the queen practically forced the entire Akatsuki to flee Whirlpool with the princess."_

_Yahiko frowned. "And I'm guessing that this 'something' has something to do with the reason why Orochimaru attacked Whirlpool as well?" he stated bluntly and Nagato nodded._

"_The queen…cast the forbidden spell that has been passed down through the line of the royal family of Whirlpool for generations," said Nagato wearily. "That spell basically sealed all of Whirlpool Kingdom away from the rest of the kingdoms, and only someone with her blood…basically, a member of the royal family of Whirlpool will be able to unseal it. That spell is forbidden because it essentially kills every living person within the barrier that she set up. The Akatsuki managed to escape with the princess, and we saw it all happen."_

_Yahiko frowned, bounding the last of Nagato's injuries before closing the first aid box with a clap. Nagato then sighed and put on his shirt and coat carefully. "Where's Konan?" asked Yahiko with a frown. "I thought that she'll be with you."_

"_A few Oto-nins came after us," said Nagato, buttoning his coat up carefully. "Konan and the others delayed them in order for me to get away with the princess." Noticing Yahiko's look, he nodded. "That's right. The girl with me earlier…that's the princess of Whirlpool. I need you to hide her here. No one will suspect that the princess of Whirlpool will be in an orphanage among other orphans. And besides, I have my last orders from the king. He told me to hide her in a place where the Whirlpool's enemies wouldn't find her…Orochimaru especially."_

_Yahiko frowned. "I have no problems with it, but…are you sure?" he asked hesitantly._

_Nagato sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I can't take her with me," he said. "Everyone knew that I'm the Akatsuki's captain. She'll be in more danger in more ways than one if she travels with me. And if something happens to her, what the hell am I going to tell the king and queen?" He then sighed. "I'll have to make a stopover over at Konoha to inform the Fire Kingdom's king and queen about this though, so that they can at least make sure that the princess can protect herself in the future."_

_Yahiko sighed and nodded. "I suppose I have to keep her identity secret?" he stated more than asked and Nagato nodded._

"_I'm sure that I don't have to tell you this, but if Whirlpool's enemies knew that the princess is here, you'll be in danger as well, Yahiko," said Nagato. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."_

"_Don't worry about me," said Yahiko, waving his concerns off. "I doubt that anyone will guess that she's here."_

_Nagato nodded. "I have to go," he said. "Take care of her for me, Yahiko."_

_Yahiko nodded. "Will do."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Borders between Fire and Wind:_

Shiki panted to herself as she gripped tightly on the reins of Natsu, urging the horse to quicken his speed. And the horse, somehow sensing his mistress's distress, obeyed. It was currently nightfall, and Shiki had been travelling for a whole day by this time. Because the last time when she headed to the Wind, she had been with the prince, their journey was delayed by some time. But this time, she was alone and only stopped in order for Natsu to rest, and for the horse to have a drink at the nearby stream or for a meal. Other than that, she didn't stop.

And because Natsu happened to be the fastest horse in all of Fire Kingdom, what should be a five day journey from Wind to Fire only took Shiki a whole day. She was never so relieved in her life when the gates of the capital city of Fire Kingdom came into view, the two shinobi guards guarding the gates of Fire Kingdom being quite tense and nervous for some reason.

The two guards brightened up when the sound of Natsu's galloping entered their hearing range and turned to see Shiki coming towards them before leaping from Natsu's back in one smooth fluid motion, panting heavily.

"Namikaze-taichou!" said one of the guards in relief. "Thank goodness that you're back! His Majesty had requested that you head straight to the hospital immediately. We'll inform Their Majesties as well as the shinobi headquarters of your return, and we'll return your horse to the stable as well."

"Thanks!" said Shiki before rushing off towards the direction of the hospital. It was currently midnight, and as such, the streets were deserted save for the few shinobis that Shiki can sense who is on night patrol duty. No one tried to stop her as she rushed through the streets using shinobi speed, and Shiki had a suspicion that the king and queen ordered that she not be stopped.

Five minutes later, Shiki arrived at the hospital before the nervous looking nurse at the receptionist desk pointed her towards room 608 on the sixth level of the hospital – where the critical care unit was – and Shiki rushed to said level immediately, not even bothering to take the elevator, but dashing up the emergency stairs.

Shiki had been to the critical care unit of the hospital several times in the past when a Fire shinobi was injured seriously to the point of near death and knew this place like the back of her hand. Most shinobis who attained squad captain rank usually are, and everyone knew that most people who got admitted into the critical care unit of the hospital rarely come out alive.

As Shiki neared room 608, her steps silent and nearly soundless like most shinobis, she soon caught the sight of a kunoichi with pink hair walking out of said room dejectedly, stripping off the disposal gloves from her hands and reading from a medical chart in her hands, nodding to the shinobi standing guard outside the hospital room.

"SAKURA!!"

Sakura blinked and turned to see Shiki running towards her and her face brightened up. "Shiki!" she said, sounding both relieved and delighted.

Shiki came to a stop before Sakura and grabbed one of her hands. "How is he?!" she asked breathlessly.

Sakura shook her head sadly. "Not good," she said grimly. "Be prepared for the worst, Shiki. He might not survive the night. His vitals aren't looking good. Shizune-san, Hinata, Ino and myself are taking it in turns to care for him each day. I don't know what Neji told the king and queen in his statements and report, but whatever that he said had the effect to have the king and queen place a shinobi to guard his room."

Shiki chewed on her lower lip nervously. "Where are the others?" she asked.

"They hadn't returned yet," said Sakura. "Gaara and Haku are deployed to Water Kingdom. Temari and Kankuro were at Demon Kingdom. They should be back anytime soon. Why don't you go and see him first? He's been asking for you the most. I'll let you know once the others return." Sakura patted Shiki's shoulder sympathetically before turning to the guard outside the hospital room. "Take a ten minute break." The guard nodded before walking down the hallway.

Shiki nodded grimly. "Thanks," she muttered before entering the hospital room and closing the door behind her.

A sad and angry expression appeared in her eyes as she spotted the lone figure on the single bed in the ward room, the curtains drawn across the windows, making the room darker than it already is. The only sounds that could be heard in the room was the sound of the machines beeping. Most of Yahiko's body was bound thickly with bandages, with tubes running in and out of his body with an oxygen mask on his face in order to help him to breathe.

Shiki bit on her lower lip, trying to hold back her tears. Sakura never did tell her what Neji had given in his report, and it was bound to be something of importance. She made a mental note to ask Neji about it since the king had stated in his letter that it was Neji and Hinata who had saved Yahiko from the fire, and they're bound to know something about that fire and the attack on the orphanage.

Shiki then dragged a chair next to Yahiko's bedside and sat down in the chair. The sound of the chair dragging across the floor to the bedside caused Yahiko to wake up and he blinked opened bleary brown eyes still mused with sleep from the tranquilizers and morphine that the medics had given him to help with the pain.

Shiki managed a small smile, holding his hand which was also bound with thick bandages from the hand to his wrist. "Hey," she said. "How are you doing?"

"Shiki," breathed Yahiko, reaching out with his free hand to free himself of the oxygen mask only to have Shiki stopping him. "I can't…talk to you…with this on. At least…give me…five minutes."

Shiki hesitated before recalling what the king and Sakura have both said – that Yahiko don't have long to live, and Shizune, Fire Kingdom's best medic also do not think that he had long to live. She then nodded, removing her hand from the oxygen mask, allowing Yahiko to remove it.

The man coughed harshly before looking at Shiki with a slight smile on his lips, his face nearly as pale as the sheets covering him. "I…wanted to see you alone…for the last time…before the others arrive," he wheezed, struggling to speak despite the obvious pain and discomfort that was causing him. He coughed harshly. "Seven…years ago…Nagato brought you to me…to the…orphanage." Shiki listened intently. "When…he brought you to me…he told me everything…the…attack on the Whirlpool Kingdom…the Akatsuki…the king and queen…even the fact that you're…the princess of Whirlpool…" Yahiko smiled as he saw Shiki's eyes widened in both shock and horror and nodded weakly. "That's right…Nagato told me who you are…when he first brought you to the orphanage. It…was the only place that he thought can keep…you safe from Whirlpool's…enemies. He choose…to hide you…among other children and orphans. No one…will think that the princess of Whirlpool…will be hiding…in an orphanage of all places." Yahiko coughed. "Nagato and Konan…they were my best friends. We were war orphans…having lost our parents in the last war. We…lived in a small remote village to the western continent…of Whirlpool Kingdom. But Nagato and Konan…they both left when we were fifteen in order to become a ninja…in the Whirlpool Kingdom. I hated violence…and that was why I choose to build an orphanage…in order to house orphans like myself, Nagato and Konan in the Fire Kingdom. But…we still…kept in contact with each other via letters. Then that night seven years ago…Nagato gave me the shock of my life when he turned up in that terrible thunderstorm…covered in blood from head to toe…with you in his arms…and told me to keep you safe. He…never came back. He told me that night…that the king…your father…gave him a final order. That order…was to protect you and to keep you safe. But…he was separated from Konan…and the rest of the Akatsuki when…what few survivors of Oto there are came after them…after the queen cast the forbidden spell on Whirlpool Kingdom…as a whole. He said…that you'll be in more danger…if you stayed with him. He's…the captain of the Akatsuki…the elite shinobi forces of Whirlpool Kingdom after all. Everyone…knew who he was. That's why…he left you with me. He never came back after that…and I received no letters from him or Konan… I have no idea if he's still alive…or if Konan is still alive. He told me…of the dangers surrounding you…and that is why I kept your…identity secret…from even your friends."

Shiki listened intently, whatever puzzles and questions that she had regarding that horrific night seven years ago filling in themselves. "Does the king and queen of Fire Kingdom knew about me?" she asked carefully and Yahiko nodded.

"Nagato…made a stopover in Konoha…informing them about this…and to instruct them…to keep you safe," wheezed Yahiko. "But…Oto found out…somehow. Orochimaru knew…that you…lived in…Hope Orphanage…after that attack. But…by the time…that Oto came…you and the others…were already no longer…there. I…was relieved. I…refused to tell them…where you had gone…so that you can…at least have a normal life…until you deem it necessary…to come clean…with your identity."

Shiki bowed her head. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "If it wasn't because of me…"

Yahiko grasped her hand and she looked up. The man smiled weakly at her. "Don't…be silly," he wheezed through a weak smile that he somehow managed to put on his face. "You're…the best thing…that had ever…happened to me. Even though…I had lived in the Fire Kingdom…all these years…I'm…still a citizen…of the Whirlpool Kingdom. Anyone living in the Whirlpool…will gladly…give their own lives up in half a heartbeat…if it means that…you can survive. The king…and queen of Whirlpool…did that so that you can live. And…you must survive. Take down…Oto. They're…the real threats…out there." He coughed harshly and tightened his grip on Shiki's hand. "Shiki…they're after you… Be…careful. After…you and the others…left for Konoha…I did some…investigating…on the attack on Whirlpool Kingdom… The attack…was carried out by…Oto…but Orochimaru…never turned up…from what…I heard from…Nagato. The leader of the forces…who led that attack back then…is still alive…managing…to escape…before the queen…cast her spell. And the leader…of the forces…is Da—"

Yahiko's eyes rolled back into the back of his head and the machines hooked to him deflated to a flat line before his hand fell limp in Shiki's hand. Shiki's eyes widened, standing up immediately. "Yahiko!" she nearly screamed before reaching for the emergency call button next to Yahiko's bedside and pressing on it quickly, summoning a doctor and a nurse. "Medics!" She nearly screamed before turning back to Yahiko. "Yahiko!"

Within moments, Shizune dashed into the hospital room, dressed in a white doctor's coat over her regular shinobi attire, with Ino, Sakura and Hinata by her side. Sakura looked at the heart and BP monitors being attached to Yahiko via tubes and turned to Shizune, shaking her head. "BP and heart rates at zero," she reported.

Shizune was pulling back Yahiko's eyelids, shining a torchlight into his eyes only to see white, and placing two fingers by his neck in order to feel his pulse. "Ino, get the defibrillator on!" Shizune shouted to the blonde before the girl hurried out of the room. The head medic then seemed to notice Shiki for the first time and her eyes softened. "Shiki, I'm sorry. But you must leave for now. Let us do our job."

Sakura steered Shiki by the shoulders and pushed her out of the ward room gently just as Ino rushed back into the ward room with the defibrillators in hand and the door clicked shut behind them. However, Shiki can still see and hear everything through the glass window.

"SHIKI!"

Shiki turned around at that shout only to see Gaara, Haku, Temari and Kankuro running up to her, panting heavily. Apparently, they had headed straight here after returning to the capital, judging by their states.

"How is he?!" asked Haku desperately.

Shiki shook her head frantically. "They're trying to save him now," she said, turning towards the glass window, and the other four did so too. "He was talking to me…telling me something when his condition suddenly worsened." Shiki gritted her teeth. "If only I stopped him from using his strength in order to talk to me, he wouldn't have…"

Gaara placed a hand on Shiki's shoulder, an understanding look on his face. "We all received that letter from the king," he explained. "He already said that Shizune-san thinks that he wouldn't survive the night. At least you managed to talk to him. Let Sakura and the others do their job. They'll save him. I'm sure of it."

The others nodded, agreeing with Gaara before turning back towards the window where they can see and hear everything that's currently going on inside the room. Sakura was attempting CPR on Yahiko as Shizune and Ino were both preparing the defibrillators and Hinata was cutting open Yahiko's hospital gown before inserting a mouth piece into his mouth before spreading the gel on Yahiko's chest.

Shizune took the defibrillator from Ino as the blonde finished spreading the gel on them and the three girls cleared the path before Shizune placed the defibrillators on Yahiko's chest. "Clear!" she shouted before Yahiko's body jerked violently upwards.

But the line on the heart monitor remained flat.

Outside the ward room, the hearts of the five shinobis were almost in their mouths as they prayed silently for some miracle to occur…to save the man who was the closest thing to a parent that they had.

Ino who was studying the heart monitor turned towards Shizune and shook her head. "Nothing!" she said.

Shizune growled low in her throat before attempting the defibrillator again, not wanting to give up. Again, it was still at a flat line, and Ino shook her head. "Still nothing!" she said in desperation, shooting Shiki some desperate looks, as if pleading her not to watch, as if she already knew what is going to happen.

Shizune growled before tossing the defibrillators aside and stripping off the disposal gloves on her hands before placing both hands atop Yahiko's chest. The eyes of Hinata, Sakura, Ino and Haku – the latter who was outside – widened in shock. This was a last attempt for a medic-nin to revive someone whose heart had already stopped. It involves them pushing their chakra and the electricity in their bodies into the patient's heart in order to jump-start their heart. Most of the time, it works, but medic-nins tried not to use it if possible as the human bodies only have so much electricity in their bodies, and it is dangerous for them.

"Shizune-san, are you sure?" asked Sakura in shock.

"Yes," said Shizune grimly. "Three, two, one!" And she pushed her chakra and some of her body's electricity into Yahiko's body. His body jerked violently upwards before falling back onto the bed again.

But the line on the heart monitor still remained flat.

"Again!" said Shizune before attempting again. But the line on the heart monitor still remained flat. The head medic-nin finally sighed, giving up before looking at the clock on the wall in a corner of the hospital room and turned towards Sakura grimly. "Time of death: 02:36am."

Sakura nodded grimly before scribbling some words into the chart that she had with her. Outside the ward room, Shiki fell against the wall of the ward room, shocked beyond words. Haku had fallen to her knees and Gaara was kneeling next to her, gripping her shoulder. Temari was leaning on her other brother for support, both hands covering her mouth, shaking her head from side-to-side, stifling the sobs that are threatening to leak out.

"No…no…no…!" whimpered Haku. "It couldn't be! Yahiko can't be gone!"

**

* * *

**_Somewhere in Wind Kingdom:_

Konan turned her head sharply, sitting on the windowsill of the inn room in Wind Kingdom, a frown on her beautiful face.

'…_Yahiko?'_

"What's wrong, Konan?" asked Deidara with curiosity, seeing their vice-captain's expression.

Konan shut her eyes, preventing the tears from leaking out as she grasped a broken band in the colours of blue, white and red – one which she wore all the time around her left wrist – between her fingers. "…nothing."

**

* * *

**_In an unknown place:_

A man with orange hair turned around sharply, sitting at a fire that he had set up, roasting a few fishes over it. A band with blue, white and red threads entwined in it with a tiny silver bell tied at the ends somehow broke and fell into two pieces by his feet.

The man gasped slightly in both shock and horror before picking up the band with shaking fingers.

"…Yahiko?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The king and queen of Fire Kingdom had both kindly given Shiki and her friends a week off to mourn Yahiko and they had arranged to have him buried at the graveyard near Hope Orphanage. The king had initially wanted to have Yahiko buried in Konoha, but Shiki, along with the rest of her friends had disagreed.

Two days after Yahiko's death, Shiki finally cornered Hyuuga Neji, and the Hyuuga knew quite well what Shiki had came to ask him and told her everything that he had told the king and queen when he gave his report.

"A shinobi attack?" Shiki repeated and Neji nodded grimly.

"I found this near Yahiko-san when I rescued him from the fire," said Neji, pulling out a kunai and several shurikens with the Sound Kingdom's symbol etched in the tip, placing it on the table before them. "It was the symbol of that of the Sound Kingdom."

All kingdoms have their own blacksmiths crafting the everyday weapons that their shinobis used, and their own kingdom symbol engraved into it as proof of ownership. This was only one way to identify which kingdom was involved in whatever attack that had occurred.

"Why am I not surprised?" Shiki muttered, closing her eyes. _'Yahiko's last words…what is that name that he's about to say? The leader of the one who had led the attack on Whirlpool. Da—what? The Uchiha massacre…the fire at the orphanage…the attack on Yahiko…Oto shinobis' appearances at Wind Kingdom… Then the fact that all this occurred when Gaara, Haku, Temari, Kankuro and myself were __**all**__ away from Fire Kingdom! This is too much of a coincidence… I need to go back to the orphanage once more!'_

Shiki opened her eyes, looking at Neji. "I have to go back to the orphanage once more," she stated. "Will you come with me, Neji? You're there at the scene when the fire occurred."

Neji nodded. "Sure," he said.

**

* * *

**_Hope Orphanage:_

…or what was left of it, anyway.

Shiki looked sadly at the black charred remains of what was her home for her childhood until she had to head to Konoha to attend the Academy with her friends. Gaara and Kankuro, being the only ones among them to be the calmest had seen to the burial spot behind the orphanage which is not too far from the cliff at the sea which is their favourite spot to go to when they were kids.

Gaara had carved the headstone himself whilst Kankuro had managed to find some flowers and laid them before Yahiko's rather elaborate grave, building a white fence enclosure around the gravestone.

Neji and Shiki have both headed to Hope Orphanage from Konoha on horseback, and it took them less than three hours before they arrived. They had then spent about an hour investigating anything that even remotely looks suspicious before giving it up.

Either the investigators have taken everything of importance back to the capital or whoever was behind that attack had done a clean and thorough job.

Right now, Shiki was thinking about her past when she was still living in Hope Orphanage. She can't help blaming herself for Yahiko's death, feeling that if it wasn't because of her, he wouldn't have died. But a very small voice at the back of her mind told her that it wasn't her fault.

"This is a nice place," said Neji quietly from beside Shiki, both of them staring at the remains of what was once Hope Orphanage, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I would have loved to stay here if I have the chance."

"You never mentioned about your childhood before," said Shiki, turning to face Neji. "Can you tell me?"

"There's really nothing to tell," said Neji with a sigh. "Hinata and I grew up in one of the small towns in western Fire Kingdom. Our families died in the last war, and the money that we inherited from our families was enough to get us by. One of the scouts came across us when we were kids, and we came to Konoha then. Ino lived in Konoha with Sakura, and we met her when we first came to Konoha as Sakura's family ran the local inn. Chouji and Shikamaru came from a small village to the east, and their families came with them to the capital. As for Kiba and Shino…I'm not sure, but I think it's the same for them as well."

Shiki turned her head slightly to the side and Neji looked at where she's staring only to see a river flowing in the distance. "The riverbank…" said Shiki softly, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "We used to play there when we were kids. Yahiko forbid us to play in the water during early spring and winter, though. Kankuro disobeyed him once, swimming in the river during early spring and he caught a cold which caused him to stay in bed for two weeks. During winter, we always go ice skating on the river when the water froze over." Shiki chuckled, recalling those days. What wouldn't she give to go back to those days again? "Then whenever it turns dark, Yahiko will always light a lamp at the windowsill as a guide for us to come back home. Without fail, every time we return, there is always a hot meal waiting for us." She chuckled sadly. "He's…the closest thing that we had to a parent. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were too young to even remember their parents when Yahiko found them in a village. Better that they remember none at all than one who abandons them. Haku's parents died during the last war and Yahiko took her in. Myself…I don't really remember much… Yahiko…is the closest thing to a parent that we had. Yet he never lords it over us. He always took us on picnics or walks on weekends and even took some of us grocery shopping with him in the nearest village whilst the others stayed at the orphanage to 'clean house'."

"He seems like a nice guy," commented Neji. "I wish I could have gotten to know him."

"Yeah," said Shiki sadly. "Why is it that it's always the good guys who have to die? Why couldn't it be Orochimaru who dies? Or any Oto-nin for that matter?! Just what did Yahiko do to deserve it?! It's…not fair…!"

Neji looked sadly at his friend before placing an arm around her, allowing her to cry into his chest, hiding her face into the crook between his shoulder and his neck. He placed his arms around her, trying to comfort her, waiting for her sobs to subside.

"Do you want to go back now?" asked Neji carefully as Shiki drew away from him.

The girl turned towards him, her eyes slightly red from crying before nodding. Both of them whistled for their horses before getting on them and galloping towards the direction of Konoha.

Moments after they had both left, a shadow crept from behind some trees and a shinobi with orange hair stepped out from within the shadows, looking at the spot where Namikaze Shiki was standing at just mere moments earlier before walking towards the gravestone of Yahiko and the man laid down three wooden carvings of a bird, a swan and a wolf.

"I'm sorry, Yahiko," said the man softly. "I shouldn't have asked you that favour all those years ago. If I never came to you, you wouldn't have died." He clenched one of his hands into fists by his side. "But I _swear_ to you that Orochimaru and Oto will _pay _for what they had done to you! I swear it!" He then turned around so that the wind was currently blowing through his hair and smiled gently. "So the Princess is all right. That's good." He muttered to himself before dispersing into thin air, leaving no sign that he's been there at all.


	9. Conspiracy

Sorry for the late update! I'm currently up to my neck with work, and after this story, the next update for my stories will most probably be _Blood Red Moon. _And regarding my upcoming stories which are listed on my profile, I'll only start them in late January or early February, depending on my schedule. I _will _start on them, only not that soon. Also, regarding this chapter, there will be a time-skip and anyone who can guess which game inspired this chapter will get a cookie!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Conspiracy**

Four years later, many things have changed in Fire Kingdom.

The shinobis who used to live at Hope Orphanage were all greatly affected by Yahiko's death and it showed clearly to those who knew them as in having the boys (Gaara and Kankuro) training themselves to death, Haku who practically lived at the hospital or the medic library, trying to learn every medical jutsu that she can, and Temari who trained herself to death like her brothers, and Shiki who took on mission after mission after that disaster that it's nearly impossible to find her in the Fire Kingdom.

The former Captain of the shinobi forces in Fire Kingdom had also stepped down from his post two years after the fire at the orphanage and had appointed Shiki as his successor, with the redhead being Fire Kingdom's ambassador as well.

The other shinobis of Fire Kingdom which had came up with Shiki through the shinobi ranks had also risen in rank. Shikamaru was now the head strategist of Fire Kingdom and Yamanaka Ino was now one of the department heads of the interrogation division of Fire Kingdom, being taken in as an apprentice by the chief of the interrogation division – the Chief of Sadist – Morino Ibiki himself.

Gaara was now the captain of one of the shinobi teams of Fire Kingdom's Royal Guard – consisting of the best shinobis in the entire kingdom – and most surprisingly, Rock Lee was also in his team as his vice-captain, along with one Akimichi Chouji serving in his team as well, though there were times when Gaara was seriously considering kicking Lee out of his team because of his constant rants about the 'flames of youth' or whatever crap.

Sakura, Hinata and Haku were now some of the best medic-nins in all the land, all three of them being taken in by Shizune – the head medic-nin as well as the head of the shinobi headquarters in Fire Kingdom – as her apprentices. Ino was also one of her apprentices, though her skill in the medic arts aren't as well-versed as Sakura and Haku who were both easily two of Shizune's best students, with skills that rivalled hers, and some even said that they've surpassed her by now. Sakura was more of the type that likes taking apart potions and seeing how they work as well as researching diseases and illnesses in order to put that knowledge to good use in the operating room, but Haku is more of the type that performs well under pressure and is better at field treatment which is why she's appointed as Fire Kingdom's first field medic captain, though she's also listed as a captain rank hunter with Zabuza as her partner. The raven-haired medic had also attained rank one as a hunter by now. Hinata, however, was more of the type that likes to create healing creams and potions, and most of the medical supplies that the shinobis in Fire Kingdom carry about in their shinobi pack were created by Hinata.

Temari, like both her brothers, was also promoted to a captain rank shinobi, serving in the Royal Guard as well, just like her two brothers, Kankuro and Gaara. Kinzoku Tenten, Temari's self-proclaimed rival served in her team as her vice-captain, making their team one of the best Royal Guard shinobi teams in the kingdom, despite the team captains both being females.

Neji, along with Shino and Kiba were all promoted to captain rank shinobis in the tracking division of Fire Kingdom, and because they work well together, they were often paired up on missions together.

But now, four years have passed since then, and the shinobis have not only risen in rank and skill, and most of them have changed their appearances, along with their clothing. Shiki's clothing had more or less stayed the same, except that she now wore a slim black headband with edges of white around her forehead in remembrance of Yahiko.

However, one morning, the king and queen of Fire Kingdom both received a startling letter from the king of Wind Kingdom which alarmed them both greatly, and thus, Jiraiya and Tsunade summoned four of their best ninjas – Namikaze Shiki, Sabaku no Gaara, Hyuuga Neji and Shisei Haku.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Audience Chamber; Fire Palace; Fire Kingdom:_

"Run that by me again," said Shiki with a blank look on her face, but to those who knew her…namely, the shinobis standing by her sides right now, they could tell that she's royally pissed off.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances before sighing as one and Jiraiya repeated what he had said earlier. "The king of Wind Kingdom sent a letter of plea," he said wearily. "He received a letter of proposal from the Oto Kingdom last week. _Orochimaru—"_ Jiraiya practically spat this name out. "—wants his daughter's hand in marriage. Basically, he's after Konohamaru's fiancée."

Neji frowned. "But is it even legal?" The Hyuuga wanted to know. "I mean, the prince and the princess from Wind are engaged, aren't they?"

Tsunade nodded wearily. "Yes, but as long as they aren't married yet, this engagement can still be made void and broken off with only one way," she said, holding up a finger as she spoke.

Haku frowned. "What is that?"

Shiki was the one who answered that question this time, sighing all the while, seeing now what the king and queen meant. "The old marriage duel," she stated, causing everyone to turn towards her, including the king and queen. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "It's an ancient law used in the kingdoms of old during the ancient times. But it only applies to the male parties of the engagement. If an aspiring male meets all the requirements of the marriage procedure of a princess, he has the right to request for a duel with the would-be fiancé. The one who wins the duel will win the princess's hand in marriage."

Gaara frowned. "I remember Mizuki-sensei talking about it in history class when we're in the Academy, and the Politics study in our senior year covered that too," he said. "But as far as I know, no kingdom uses this law now."

"But is it even legal in the first place?" asked Shiki, turning towards the king and queen. "I mean…Oto has barely been around for twenty years! This marriage law only applies to the ancient kingdoms – one of the six major powers! You have to be from a royal family or even a noble clan from one of the kingdoms of the six major powers, as well as have the backing of the king or queen of the kingdom that you're from to meet the requirements for the laws of the old marriage duel."

Jiraiya sighed. "We were hoping for that too, but unfortunately, Oto has found a way around that loophole," he said wearily. "While it's true that they aren't one of the major powers recognised by the other kingdoms of the six major powers _yet,_ law 256 of section thirteen and paragraph 58 of the law book states that any kingdom who had beaten one of the six major powers whether in a war or a battle will take their place as one of the six major powers. The current kingdoms as one of the six major powers are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water and Earth. Like how the Fire Kingdom had taken the Earth Kingdom's place as the second most powerful of the six major powers in the last war years ago, Oto had won the right when they…destroyed the Whirlpool Kingdom nearly eleven years ago."

There was silence for a moment before Neji broke the silence.

"What are we going to do?" asked Neji worriedly, looking from one person to the next. "We can't just let Orochimaru have his way, can we?"

"Of course not!" said Tsunade, nearly cracking the armrest of her throne. "I am not about to let that snake ruin the life of a girl! I wouldn't wish for even my worst enemy to marry that snake!" The queen sighed. "We have a way around this problem. Representatives are allowed to take the places of those who had initiated this duel in the first place. And I know Orochimaru, he wouldn't fight personally. He'll send a representative. And because the would-be husband of the princess of Wind is the prince of Fire Kingdom, our kingdom would be involved in this fight. We're free and all to send one of our best shinobis to fight in this duel, but I think that it's best if Konohamaru fights in this duel himself. If Oto wins, the alliance between Fire and Wind will come to an end! We can't let that happen. But if Konohamaru fights in this duel personally, it'll send out a message to not only Wind, but to all the other nations that even Fire royalty are no pushover, and that Konohamaru is truly sincere about marrying the princess."

"And why are we called here?" asked Shiki.

"Because I need the four of you to head over to Wind Kingdom immediately and train Konohamaru as best as you can," said Tsunade wearily. "The Captain of Wind Kingdom's shinobis forces and his second – the Uchiha brothers – are now taking over the job to train Konohamaru, but I'll feel better if you go and train him too. Delegates and nobles from all over would be heading to Wind Kingdom in two weeks for the duel, and you have that amount of time to get him ready. I can't leave the kingdom, so Jiraiya will be going in my place."

All the shinobis nodded, but Shiki had a frown on her face, looking at Jiraiya and Tsunade intently. Jiraiya sighed as the other shinobis noticed the look on Shiki's face.

"Shiki?" Haku voiced out.

Tsunade sighed; she had a faint suspicion as to what Shiki was worried about, but this isn't something that can be discussed in front of the others. "All of you are dismissed, save for Shiki," ordered the queen. "Pack up at once. You'll leave immediately."

However, the shinobis were still looking at Shiki, and the redhead sighed, turning to her friends. "Neji, head to the shinobi headquarters and arrange for all our missions to be put on hold until we get back, or have those missions assigned to other shinobis. Gaara, get our horses ready. Haku, get whatever medical supplies that you can get. We're going to need a lot of them."

"Shiki…"

"Just go," said Shiki with a sigh.

The remaining three shinobis nodded before saluting the king and queen and excusing themselves from the audience chamber. When the gigantic oak doors of the audience chamber slammed shut, Shiki turned towards Tsunade and Jiraiya and sighed again.

"Is it wise to send me to Wind Kingdom in the first place?" she stated more than asked. "What if Oto recognises me? Two of those Oto goofheads knew immediately who I am the time when I was in the Wind Kingdom four years ago during the Uchiha massacre!"

Tsunade sighed. "Look Shiki, I'll prefer that we don't send you as well since I do not wish to risk having the chance to have Oto guessing at who you are," she said. "But we don't have a choice! You're one of my best ninjas, and you're the Captain of the shinobi forces in Fire Kingdom as well as our ambassador. You're one of the highest ranking shinobis in the kingdom, alongside Shizune and Iruka. If you don't go, people will talk, and Orochimaru will get suspicious, especially since you're Konohamaru's tutor."

There was silence for a moment before Shiki looked at them.

"And let's say that Konohamaru managed to beat the representative of Oto whom Orochimaru is sending in this duel," she said. "What's there to say that either Fire or the Wind won't become like Whirlpool when Orochimaru don't get what he wants?"

There was silence and Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks between them before turning back towards Shiki. Jiraiya cleared his throat before looking at Shiki. "I don't think that he will go that far," he said. "There's a difference between now and then, Shiki. Back then, Orochimaru is after the power of both your parents, that's why he went that far. The Gale and Whirlpool Kingdoms – the kingdoms where both your parents come from – are extremely powerful. That's why Orochimaru decided that if he can't get that power, he'll wipe out the Whirlpool Kingdom which is the leader kingdom among the six major powers then. But this time, what he's trying to do is to merely stop the alliance between Fire and Wind from occurring. Konohamaru will be returning to Fire soon, along with the princess and three of Wind Kingdom's shinobis will be becoming Fire shinobis, as part of the alliance, along with the princess's aide. Orochimaru wouldn't risk having his entire shinobi forces wiped out by waging war against Wind or Fire. And even if he is, have faith in us. Fire and Wind won't fall that easily."

Shiki chuckled, but it wasn't a happy or amused chuckle, but one more of sadness. "My father said that to me after my fifth birthday party when my mother turned down Orochimaru," she said. "And still, Whirlpool was wiped out. What is there to say that it won't happen again?"

Tsunade sighed. _"This _time," she said, signifying the 'this'. "We'll be ready for him if he tries anything. Go, Shiki. Your friends will be wondering where you are."

Shiki nodded before saluting Jiraiya and Tsunade and leaving the audience chamber. Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks mere moments after Shiki had left.

"She does have a point," said Jiraiya, worried. "If Orochimaru managed to get the help of the Progenitor Wolves again, we won't stand a chance. We don't have many priestesses and priests in the Fire, unlike Whirlpool. The only thing that will even stand a chance against those demons will be the purifying barrier around the capital city and the Suzaku temple. And if rumours about those 'cursed children' that we've been hearing about Oto are true, if Oto attacks, we'll be in serious trouble."

Tsunade scowled. "I know," she said with a sigh. "I'll do something about it whilst you head off with them to the Wind. Make sure that Konohamaru wins though. I don't want to think about what will happen if he fails to win the duel."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Wind Kingdom:_

Three days later, the maximum time needed for shinobis to travel to the Wind Kingdom, the Uchiha brothers – Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke – stood waiting at the gates when the group from the Fire arrived on their horses.

It was currently night-time and the streets of Wind Kingdom were quiet, thus, no one noticed the arrivals of the four Fire shinobis, along with the king from the Fire Kingdom, save for the Uchiha brothers and the two shinobis who were guarding the gates of Wind Kingdom.

Itachi nodded to Shiki before saluting the king. "Sasuke will take your horses to the stables," said Itachi quietly. "Come with me. His Majesty the King awaits your arrival."

**

* * *

**_Meanwhile in Fire Kingdom:_

"Your Majesty," said a random Fire shinobi, entering the audience chamber after announcing his presence where Tsunade was looking at the portraits of the Whirlpool king and queen. "You have some visitors."

Tsunade sighed, turning towards the shinobi. "Who is it?" she asked wearily.

"We…have no idea, Your Majesty," said the shinobi hesitantly. "They appear to be foreign shinobis from an unknown kingdom. However, their leader told me to tell the queen that 'they're from Kushina's homeland'. She said that you'll understand what that means."

Tsunade's eyes flew opened in shock the moment she heard the name of the queen of the Whirlpool Kingdom. "Send them in!" she said hurriedly. "And make sure that we're alone."

If the shinobi was shocked by the orders given by the queen, he didn't show it as it was standard procedure to have at least two Fire shinobis present in the audience chamber at all times with the king and queen if there are any foreign shinobis present.

"At once, Your Majesty," said the shinobi before saluting Tsunade and hurrying off to see to his orders.

It was ten minutes later when a group of six shinobis all clad in black weather resistant coats with regular shinobi attire worn beneath their coats entered the audience chamber. All six shinobis have a bandanna tied around the arm of their right coat sleeve. The only female of the group stepped forward to greet Tsunade, saluting her, which the others followed suit.

"It's been a while, Your Majesty," said Konan wearily.

**

* * *

**_Back room of audience chamber; Wind Kingdom:_

"We don't have a choice, do we?" said Jiraiya with frustration, the four shinobis from the Fire, along with Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, along with the king from Wind himself all present in the back room of the audience chamber.

The king from Wind sighed. "When we decided to accede to Oto's demands to go ahead with the old marriage duel, we were all well aware that Oto might emerge victorious," he said. "And the duel is only in another two weeks. And it's not like Oto had won yet. So what are you worrying and being so hesitant about?"

"Permission to speak freely, Your Majesty," said Itachi with a frustrated sigh and the king from Wind nodded. "Your Majesty, we aren't talking about any little girl here. We're talking about the _princess! Anybody _would hesitate!"

"I hate to make her or the prince go through with this, but we don't have much of a choice now!" said Gaara with a frustrated groan.

"Trust me, if there is any other way, I'll gladly wage war against Oto for even _attempting _to marry into the royal line of the Wind Kingdom!" said the king. "But there is nothing much that we can do now other than hope that Konohamaru will win this duel!"

"It hadn't been easy for the prince and the princess so far," said Shiki with a sigh. "It's not often that you manage to see both parties of an arranged marriage really fall in love with each other. I'll hate to break them up or keep them away from each other if things end badly."

"So all that we can do is to prepare the prince as best as we could for the upcoming duel in two weeks?" asked Sasuke.

**

* * *

**_Fire Kingdom:_

"What are you doing here?" asked Tsunade after the shock wore off at seeing ¾ of the Akatsuki – Whirlpool Kingdom's elite shinobi forces – standing in front of her when every kingdom had assumed that every single member of the Whirlpool Kingdom had perished in that attack eleven years ago.

The redhead of the Akatsuki spoke up this time. "The princess," he stated.

Tsunade's eyes shot opened. How had they known that Shiki was here? Had this information leak out somehow?

"We first saw the princess four years ago in Wind Kingdom," said Konan, soothing Tsunade's worries that their information had leaked. "We had followed a lead about the Oto-nins appearing then and it led us to the Wind Kingdom."

"That was during the Uchiha massacre," said Tsunade solemnly. "One of Wind Kingdom's finest shinobi clans wiped out in a single night by two Oto-nins. Up till now, no one knew how they managed to do that when Uchiha Itachi and a representative from the Fire managed to kill those two so easily."

"Because it wasn't done by them," said Zetsu, and Tsunade flinched, staring at the information specialist of the Akatsuki. "I overheard the two coroners who had examined the bodies of the Uchihas who had died, along with the two Oto-nins, talking. They said that the wounds the Uchihas received were different from the weapons that the two Oto-nins were carrying. There is another person present that night…one whom the Wind failed to capture. And this unknown shinobi is the one who had committed that massacre."

Konan coughed. "Back to what we were saying," she said. "We – as in, Kisame and myself – ran into the princess in the marketplace of the Wind Kingdom nearly four years ago. We recognised her immediately. She has the queen's hair and the king's eyes. We assumed at first that she's with Wind Kingdom and asked around only to find out that Wind doesn't have a redheaded ninja. We have to do our investigation discretely as we couldn't risk having the princess in danger. Finally, we overheard two ninjas talking one day in the bar about the ninja from the Fire Kingdom who was the tutor of the prince of the Fire Kingdom, and she helped them out a lot." Konan paused and Tsunade swore to herself inwardly, making a mental note to convey a message to the king from Wind about his ninjas keeping information like this to themselves and to _not_ discuss things like the identities of shinobis from other kingdoms in a _bar _of all places. "Those two ninjas…we later learnt that they were Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi. And during their conversation, they also mentioned the name of the Fire representative – Shiki. We then knew that she's in Fire all this time."

Tsunade nodded slowly. "And now that you know, what are you going to do?" she asked carefully.

Kisame frowned. "Need you ask?" he stated more than ask. "We want the princess back. We've been searching for her for years ever since the attack. We have our orders from the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom. We don't know where our captain is, or if he is even alive, but as long as one member of the Akatsuki and the princess still lives, we'll fulfill our duty!"

"And even if the king and queen are no longer around, it doesn't matter," said Deidara fiercely, seeing Tsunade about to open her mouth. "Those are their final orders. And we of the Akatsuki only have one purpose and one only: and that is to protect the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom! We only have one master, and that is the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom! Our allegiance is only sworn to them and no one else!"

Tsunade stared at the six faces full of fierce determination and will standing before her. They remind her of what it truly means to be a ninja. They've already gone past the line of duty necessary for a shinobi. Tsunade knew this the moment the Akatsuki stepped foot into the audience chamber, meeting with her. Where the princess of Whirlpool goes, the Akatsuki follows. They'll rather give up their own lives then allow any harm to come to the princess. But…

Tsunade sighed. "I met Kushina and Minato at their wedding after the last war," she said. "That's the first time that myself and Jiraiya met them, and we took to them quickly enough that we still kept in constant contact with them after their coronations as the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom. They told us about you. You're the Royal Guard of Whirlpool, aren't you? The elites of the elite. You protect the royal family of Whirlpool Kingdom as a whole and took only the most dangerous missions that ordinary shinobis can't handle." The Akatsuki nodded and Tsunade frowned. "Shiki is now a ninja of Fire Kingdom. She's well-respected here. She's the Captain of the shinobi forces of Fire Kingdom, as well as our ambassador to the other kingdoms. She holds considerable influence not only here, but in many other kingdoms as well. And what do you think will happen if Whirlpool's enemies knew that the last remaining member of Whirlpool's royal line is in Fire all this while? Why do you think we hid her here as a Fire shinobi amongst others? If Shiki dies, the royal line of the Whirlpool Kingdom will come to an end."

There was silence after that. Konan was the first to speak up.

"We don't care about that," she said. "We didn't care that she's the princess of Whirlpool. To us, she's the one that we swore to protect on the day that she was born until the day of our deaths." She bit her lip, looking at all the others before turning back towards Tsunade. "We swore to protect her. We failed to protect the queen and the king, along with the Whirlpool Kingdom back then. But the princess survived. That's all that matters to us. When we got separated from Nagato that night, we thought the worst. We have no idea where he is, or where the princess is. And we don't even know where to start looking. I know Nagato. He'll hide her in a place where no one will dream of finding the princess. We…used to play a game called Find-the-Thimble when we were kids…Nagato, Yahiko and myself. Nagato always said this, 'the hardest places to find something are always the easiest places to find'."

Konan paused, biting on her lower lip.

"Nearly four years ago, about three days after Kisame and myself saw the princess in the Wind Kingdom, I had a bad feeling. Nagato, Yahiko and myself are connected…even from when we were kids. I suppose that is due to the fact that we're all so close that we could almost read each other's minds. We left Wind Kingdom a week after that, heading to the orphanage that I knew Yahiko had built, and then…"

Tsunade's eyes were sympathetic. "You knew that he died."

Konan nodded, her eyes brimming with tears before she wiped them away. "I already knew beforehand," she said. "I just didn't want to believe it. Then…I saw the three wood carvings on Yahiko's gravestone. The ones of a bird, a swan and a wolf. And I knew that Nagato had been there. Those wood carvings are his work. He used to sell that for money when we were kids…before we became shinobis in the Whirlpool Kingdom. And if he had been there, that means that he must have brought the princess to Yahiko. We asked the villagers from a nearby village about Yahiko and the orphanage, and the village elder told us that the five children under his care left for the capital of Fire Kingdom years earlier. From there, it wasn't too difficult to put together the pieces. We only have a suspicion that the princess is with the Fire Kingdom, but we wanted to be sure of it. That's why…"

"That's why you waited until now to come to me," said Tsunade gently and Konan nodded. She then sighed. "I'm sorry to hear about what you've gone through."

"Can we see the princess?" asked Tobi, having kept quiet all this while. "It's been years since then, but I'm sure she'll recognise us. We miss her. All of us do."

Tsunade sighed. "You've just missed her," she said. "I sent her to the Wind Kingdom three days ago with some of my shinobis and Jiraiya. The engagement between the princess from Wind and my nephew has some…complications."

"We heard about that on our way to the capital city of Fire Kingdom," said Sasori darkly. "So Orochimaru had made an appearance at last. And he's trying to pull the same thing that he tried on the Whirlpool Kingdom back then." Sasori clenched his hands into fists by his sides. "Well, I'm not having any of that!"

"Hold on, Sasori!" Konan's hand latched out and grabbed his arm. "You can't just go marching off to the Wind Kingdom! You'll put not only the princess in danger, but you'll risk having Wind and Fire fall into war! The reason why Fire and Wind allowed the old marriage duel to go ahead is to _prevent _a war from starting, _not _create one!"

"But the princess is in Wind!" protested Sasori. "What if Orochimaru recognises her?!"

Tsunade sighed. "I'm sure that Shiki can take care of herself," she said. "Besides, the Akatsuki are quite famous and well-known among the elemental kingdoms. If any one of you showed up there, and for Orochimaru who have seen all of you at least once, he'll suspect that something is up if you showed that you know Shiki. That snake has a parrot memory, and he'll remember any face that he sees only once."

"Then what are we going to do?" grunted Deidara, crossing his arms across his chest.

Konan sighed. "We wait here," she said. "But we need a good reason to stay in the Fire Kingdom permanently as well, not as a guest." She looked at Tsunade and a silent message passed between the two women before Tsunade nodded.

"Very well," said Tsunade. "But are you sure?"

"I'll make this clear first," said Konan, narrowing her eyes. "I don't mean any disrespect when I say this, Your Majesty, but we of the Akatsuki will only have _one_ master, and one only, and that is the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom! Now that I know that Nagato is still alive, I'm going to find him. And since the Fire Kingdom is one of the six major powers, I'll have a better chance at finding him here than travelling all over with no connections whatsoever."

Tsunade sighed and nodded. "Very well," she said. "I shall enlist you lot as Fire shinobis."


	10. Fire versus Oto!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Fire versus Oto**

_Wind Kingdom:_

For the next two weeks until the official start of the duel, the atmosphere was pretty tense…especially for those from the Fire Kingdom. Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Shiki…the two being the most skilled out of all the shinobis currently present in the Wind Kingdom had taken over Konohamaru's training, with the other shinobis pinching in every now and then…though mostly, they were assigned to guard the princess as the king from Wind Kingdom feared that Oto may pull off a kidnapping scheme.

And thus, to avoid any distractions, the princess wasn't allowed to see Konohamaru, and both princess and prince weren't happy about it. Konohamaru on the other hand, was determined not to lose to whomever that Oto will send in the duel and had pushed himself to his limits until he passed out from exhaustion or from his injuries which resulted in Haku having to use some of Hinata's best miracle creams in order to heal him.

Four days before the actual start of the duel, several delegates and nobles from the other kingdoms arrived to the Wind Kingdom to attend the duel, and two days before the duel, Orochimaru, along with some of his best shinobis arrived at Wind Kingdom. And Oto's presence caused all the other kingdoms to be quite wary.

All too soon, it was soon time for the duel and it was with thumping hearts that both Fire and Wind attended the duel which was being held at the royal stadium of Wind Kingdom which was a place where the shinobis of Wind Kingdom usually held their combat examinations to go up in rank, and it was there where Konohamaru would be fighting for the right to marry his love…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Sorry that I'm late." Namikaze Shiki apologised, panting heavily as she turned up at the royal box of the stadium where the king from Wind was seated, along with Jiraiya and their bodyguards. Moegi was also seated beside her father and Udon was standing behind her chair.

The leaders from the other kingdoms were seated in the other boxes, and everyone could see Orochimaru in one of the boxes, with a couple of Oto-nins surrounding him.

"Where have you been?" hissed Sasuke as his brother entered the royal box a little after Shiki, both panting heavily.

"Sorry, we're brushing up on some last minute training with the prince," said Shiki. "Who's Oto sending as their representative?"

"That silver-haired guy there. Yakushi Kabuto was his name, I think," said Neji, jerking his chin towards the grounds of the stadium where the spectator boxes were already filled with the ordinary civilians and the other shinobis of Wind Kingdom who were not on duty. Said silver-haired guy that Neji was talking about was engaged in conversation with another silver-haired guy who looked extremely pale with two red dots on his forehead. Judging by the shinobi uniform and badge on the latter, he was an extremely highly ranked shinobi in Oto, and as for the representative… Shiki frowned as she narrowed her eyes, noticing the colours of the badge that the representative had on and cursed to herself.

"Shit!" she scowled and everyone turned towards her. "The Oto representative…he's a medic-nin!"

The eyes of everyone present went wide immediately. Medic-nins are extremely skilled in close combat and it's practically suicide to engage in close combat with a ninja who can kill you with one strike to your heart or something.

"Will the prince be okay?" asked Haku weakly and Moegi looked anxiously at Shiki, along with everyone else.

Shiki sighed. "I've already taught him the best I can," she stated. "And dodging is one of the things that I've made sure that he knew. The rest…is up to him."

**

* * *

**Sasuke who was guarding the princess of Wind was wondering if he should get Haku to take a look at her as she went paler with each second that it looks as if she would faint or something. And it isn't helping any matters that she was clutching at the armrest of her chair so tightly that her knuckles went white as she looked on anxiously as Konohamaru fought against the Oto-nin.

Shiki was looking on with seemingly no emotion, but anyone who knew her knew that she's really worried about the outcome of the match. _'Come on, Kono!' _she thought. _'You can do it! Beat him!'_

Down below, Konohamaru grunted as he side-stepped out of the way of Kabuto's blade, thanking his stars that Shiki had made sure that he at least knew how to _dodge, _since the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces knew that a mere two weeks simply isn't enough time for Konohamaru to beat one of Oto's best ninjas, and Shiki knew it too. Konohamaru's best chance at winning is to dodge and hope that his opponent will run out of stamina or have too big a head for his shoulders and counter-attack.

Konohamaru panted as he studied the Oto-nin before him and wished to himself frantically that he can wipe that smug look off his face. He then recalled what Shiki had taught him when he didn't manage to dodge out of the way fast enough during one training session when Shiki had used her wakizashi.

'_Remember, Konohamaru. For a medic-nin, dodging as well as building up their stamina are one of the first lessons that they must learn. But for Oto, I'm pretty sure that they didn't bother to do that since the heads of their ninjas are all too big for their shoulders. Your best chance at winning is to wear down his stamina by dodging his attacks and attacking from underground__…'_

Konohamaru panted as he studied the Oto-nin before him who looked as tired as himself, if not more. The prince nodded to himself, a determined look set on his face. _'Let's give it a try!'_

Kabuto came at Konohamaru again before the brunette dodged out of the way, narrowly having missed having his head lobbed off and kicked Kabuto in the face which sent the ninja to the ground. That split second was all that Konohamaru needed. And when Kabuto picked himself up from the ground once more, it was to see that Konohamaru had vanished.

"Where did he go?" wondered Kabuto, looking left and right.

All around the stands, everyone was confused as well. The only ones who weren't were Shiki and Itachi who knew what that technique that Konohamaru had used was as Shiki had taught him this in order to prepare him for this day.

"Where did he go?" wondered Kabuto, looking in several directions at once. "Left, right, up?"

"Wrong," said a voice below him. "Below!"

The earth below Kabuto's feet caved in immediately, causing the guy to lose his balance and Konohamaru appeared all of a sudden, his nodachi in his hands and an extremely determined look on his face before he smashed the hilt of his nodachi in Kabuto's face, breaking his nose before using the blunt side of the blade of his nodachi and hitting it upwards at Kabuto's jaw, sending him flying a fair distance away.

Konohamaru panted as he landed onto the ground on his feet, both hands holding onto his nodachi. All eyes in the stadium were on the Oto-nin as they stared, wondering if he will pick himself up. The umpire went over to Kabuto before he got up and raised one hand.

"Kabuto is unable to continue battling!" he said in an extremely loud voice that echoed all around the stadium. "The winner is His Highness Prince Konohamaru from Fire Kingdom!"

It was like an explosion had gone off in the stadium as it immediately exploded with loud cheers. Konohamaru grinned tiredly to himself before falling on his bottom, panting heavily. Moegi gave a whoop of delight from her chair before a nod from her father gave her the necessary permission to run out from the royal box where she was seated in, with Udon on her heels, and she appeared at the grounds of the stadium within moments before leaping on Konohamaru.

Haku slumped down onto her knees in relief, and Gaara smiled to himself, clapping. Jiraiya and the king from the Wind Kingdom were smiling, exchanging looks with each other, clapping as well. Shiki smiled, laughing a little before leaping on Neji who was standing right next to her, enveloping him in a bear hug, with said Hyuuga laughing a little in both relief and delight as well.

Sasuke who was standing in between Shiki and Itachi caught sight of the faint hint of something different from the usual emotions present in his elder brother's eyes and that faint scowl on his face which faded away just as quickly as it had appeared and grinned to himself inwardly. _'Very interesting__…' _thought Sasuke, laughing his ass off in his mind. _'Is that jealousy that I see there, Brother?'_

Shiki then looked towards Jiraiya before the king nodded and she saluted him and the king from Wind Kingdom both before exiting from the royal box and appeared a few moments later at the grounds of the stadium where Konohamaru is still being straddled by a laughing Moegi, and the brunette was grinning from ear-to-ear as well. Udon was standing a little way away from them, but everyone could tell that he's grinning, happy for his princess and his best friend as well.

"Good work, Your Highness," said Shiki, coming up to Konohamaru, and the prince, the princess as well as Udon looked up at her simultaneously. "You pulled off a victory and defended your princess."

Konohamaru grinned and nodded before all four of them looked towards Kabuto's side only to see that Wind Kingdom's medics were placing him on a stretcher before taking him to the treatment room. The Oto-nin talking to Kabuto before the match looked extremely displeased before he followed the medics. Kabuto was lucky. If Konohamaru had used the proper side of his blade when he had used that attack, Kabuto's head would have gone off halfway.

She then looked up towards the box which contained the Oto-nins as well as Orochimaru and couldn't help dancing a jig about in her head as she saw Orochimaru's fierce scowl before her heart nearly stopped when she saw a certain raven-haired shinobi standing next to him. It may have been four years since then, but she remembered him from that disastrous night all those years ago.

'_Sai__…?! He's an Oto-nin?!'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A party was held right after the duel and all kingdoms and their shinobis were invited to the party. The shinobis were all dressed in their formal shinobi attires for formal occasions like this, but there was still the occasional weapon concealed somewhere on their person if only an observer knew where to look.

This party will be like a farewell party for the princess of Wind as she'll be heading to the Fire Kingdom with Udon and three of Wind Kingdom's shinobis as part of the marriage alliance contract made four years ago within two weeks.

Jiraiya will be heading back with two of Fire Kingdom's shinobis who had arrived sometime in the last week when Tsunade had sent them both as backup just in case something had happened, and Shiki, Neji, Gaara and Haku will be the ones escorting the princess and the prince back. This was listed as a diplomatic mission, and everyone knew what that means. When shinobis are assigned a diplomatic mission, their sole objective is to make sure that the main objective of the mission is reached. Everything else can wait.

Wind Kingdom's shinobis were all keeping an extremely sharp eye on whatever Oto-nins that were present…along with every shinobi in the room. Moegi was laughing as she twirled about with Konohamaru on the dance floor, dancing to the music tuned out by the band.

Shiki spotted the Oto-nin that she wanted to find and make her way across the ballroom to the raven-haired shinobi, ignoring the half-alarmed and half-shocked gazes that went to her from the few that noticed this action.

"Can I have a word?" she asked seriously. "Sai." Sai looked up at her, a glass of champagne in his hand and Shiki clenched her hands into fists by her sides. "Alone."

Sai gave a quick nod of his head before placing his glass of champagne on the tray of a passing waiter before exiting out of the opened double oak doors of the ballroom, inclining his head for Shiki to follow which she did. Itachi was the only one among the Fire and Wind shinobis who noticed this action as Sasuke was currently engaged in an animated conversation with Haku whilst Gaara and Neji were talking about something that he has completely no interest in.

**

* * *

**Sai led Shiki away from the ballroom until he was sure that no one can hear them before turning around and facing Shiki. The hallway that they were currently present in the palace of Wind Kingdom was dark and deserted and the shadows cast by the few knight body suits and gargoyles caused creepy shadows to fall on the carpeted floors of the palace, reflected by the full moon that night.

"What?" asked Sai.

"Did you tell anyone about me?" asked Shiki sharply, her hand going to a concealed pouch attached on her right thigh where a dagger was concealed. She's ready to kill him if he so much as do something that she doesn't like…

"No," said Sai simply, closing his eyes before opening them again.

Shiki relaxed a little, but didn't let down her guard. "Why are you helping me?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you that," said Sai after a few moments. "But I have no interest in harming you as well. You'd better go before your friends start looking for you."

Shiki studied Sai for a moment before frowning. "This isn't over yet," she warned before walking away.

'_I'm sorry, Princess,' _thought Sai, looking at her departing back. _'Now is not the time for you to know yet. I'll make good my promise __**this **__time__… I won't fail in my duty again…'_

"Sai."

Sai turned around at the sound of that voice only to see Kaguya Kimimaro as well as Orochimaru walking up to him, both not looking very happy. "Kimimaro-san," said Sai, saluting his superiors. "Orochimaru-sama."

Kimimaro frowned, narrowing his eyes in the darkness before turning back towards Sai. "Who was that you were talking to earlier?" he asked.

"No one," said Sai, closing his eyes before opening them again. "Just some random ninja from the Fire Kingdom. Is there anything that you need from me, sirs?"

"Yes," said Kimimaro with a nod, not fully convinced of Sai's story. "We've just been to see Kabuto. The medics from Wind had patched him up as best as they could. We're leaving in two hours. Get ready."

"Yes sir," said Sai, saluting his superiors before turning and leaving.

Kimimaro turned towards Orochimaru. "I'll go and see Kabuto and arrange to have him transported in one of the carriages that we have so that he don't aggravate his injuries," said Kimimaro and Orochimaru nodded. Kimimaro then scowled. "Who would have thought that the prince from the Fire Kingdom is skilled enough to do _that _to Kabuto? He's one of our best medic-nins!"

"We've underestimated them, that's for sure," said Orochimaru, not taking his eyes away from the darkness of the hallways as he spoke. "That means we have to move on to Plan B once we leave Wind Kingdom and Kabuto recovers. Wind is keeping a sharp eye on us, and with the presence of the Fire Kingdom's shinobis here, we can't move about easily. We'll leave in two hours."

"Yes sir," said Kimimaro, saluting Orochimaru and leaving, heading towards the infirmary.

Orochimaru frowned as he squinted his eyes in the darkness of the hallway, frowning slightly. _'That redhead ninja…the ninja from the Fire that Sai was speaking to…I seemed to have seen her somewhere before… But where…?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Itachi frowned as he spotted Shiki entering the ballroom once more. He then made his way over to Shiki. "Where did you go with that Oto-nin?" he asked only to wince as he didn't mean to make his question sound more like a demand.

Shiki scowled as she looked at him, not appreciating the tone of his voice. "It's none of your business!" she said, nearly growling.

"It _becomes_ my business if it involves an Oto-nin!" said Itachi, glaring back at Shiki. "Or have you forgotten what they have done four years ago and what they had just tried to pull?"

Shiki scowled even fiercer. "Are you trying to imply that I'm trying to betray my own kingdom?" she said icily and Itachi winced.

"I didn't _say _it—" he protested weakly only to be cut off by Shiki.

"No. But you _implied_ it," she growled. "I mean no offense when I say this, but my business is my own. You have to no right to be sticking your nose into my affairs and I have a right to complain to the king, you know, when you implied that I'm a traitor to my own kingdom!"

She then stalked off to the other end of the ballroom.

"Aniki, you sure sucked with women," said a voice from beside Itachi and the older Uchiha male turned to see his younger brother beside him, sipping from a glass of champagne.

Itachi blinked. "Aren't you talking with Haku a while ago?" he asked, bewildered.

Sasuke sighed, placing his glass of champagne on the tray of a passing waiter and turning towards Itachi. "I _was," _he said patiently. "But we noticed you and Shiki arguing, and Haku sent me towards you. She's gone to find out what had happened from Shiki. What _happened?"_ He asked.

Itachi sighed, kneading his temples to ease his headache. "I…said something that I shouldn't have," he said hesitantly.

"Any idiot can see that," said Sasuke bluntly. "I want the details, Brother."

There was silence for a moment.

"I saw her heading out of the ballroom a while ago with an Oto-nin," said Itachi at last and Sasuke blinked.

"An Oto-nin?!" said Sasuke, bewildered. "What for? Shiki knows what they are like! Are you sure that it wasn't the Oto-nin who had asked her to come with him?"

Itachi sighed. "No," he said. "Shiki took the initiative to speak with him. It seemed like she knew him somehow, though I wasn't aware on just _how_ she knew an Oto-nin. She came back fifteen minutes later, and I…said some things that I shouldn't have said."

Sasuke stared at his brother. "And what did you say to her?" he asked. "I'm a shinobi, not a mind reader, aniki."

"I…may have phrased my words in a way that implied that Shiki's trying to betray her own kingdom, and it didn't help that my tone is a little harsh," said Itachi hesitantly and Sasuke stared at his brother as if he had suddenly grown two new heads.

"You _did not!" _said Sasuke incredulously.

Itachi sighed. "I did," he said.

Sasuke sighed. "No wonder Shiki is so mad," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "First things first, Brother. Why do you mind so much if Shiki talks to an Oto-nin? She knows what she's doing and everyone knew that betrayal is not in Shiki's vocabulary."

"I…don't know," sighed Itachi. "Every time I see her, I keep having these…" He struggled, trying to find the correct word for it, "…feelings rise up in me."

Itachi _did not _like the look that crept on Sasuke's face. "And does these feelings involved _jealously _when you see her with other guys, by any chance, aniki?" Sasuke nearly purred.

Itachi nearly choked on his own saliva. _"No!" _he nearly shouted, inviting a few curious looks from several people near them, only to have them quickly look away when both Itachi and Sasuke turned on the famous Uchiha death glare. "Why would you think that?"

Sasuke smirked at his brother. "Maybe because I have seen how you looked at her from the first time that she came to the Wind Kingdom four years ago," he said snidely. "And how you reacted when you saw her hug that Neji guy after the prince won the duel earlier. And how you tried to spend as much time with her as possible during the time when we were both taking it in turns to train the prince that you even helped trained the prince with her when it's _my _turn to help train the prince. Does that sum it up nicely?"

Itachi nearly groaned and Sasuke smirked. "You're way too observant for your own good, little brother," said Itachi crossly.

Sasuke merely shrugged. "I'm a shinobi," he said. "It's my job." He then sighed. "Seriously, I know that Shiki likes you in the same way. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten so offended when you implied that you thought that she's a traitor—"

"I _did not _imply in _any way _that she's a traitor!" Itachi cut Sasuke off.

"I _know _what you mean, aniki, but will you just kindly shut up and let me finish?!" Sasuke asked, irritated. Itachi stayed silent. "Thank you." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, if it's any one of us – myself, Haku, Gaara or Neji even – she would have laughed it off and make a joke out of it. But it's you…you who implied that you assumed that she's a traitor. That's why she got so upset."

"And since when do _you _know how women thinks?" asked Itachi.

"After I've started guarding the princess," said Sasuke tiredly. "You'll be surprised at how you'll be able to read women and their mood swings once you spend some time around a girl twenty-four hours a day."

"Shiki is not like other girls," said Itachi stubbornly and Sasuke nearly groaned.

"Look…" Sasuke nearly groaned. "I don't even know why I'm doing this!" He grumbled something below his breath. "Just go and ask her for a dance already! And apologise to her while you're at it." Ignoring his brother's protests, Sasuke steered him around by the shoulders and pushed him towards Shiki's direction. "Now go!"

Itachi grumbled to himself as he made his way slowly across the ballroom where Shiki was standing with Haku and Gaara, arguing something with them. Many young ladies were casting Itachi appreciative glances as he walked across the ballroom and a few even batted their eyelashes at him which Itachi ignored as he walked over to Shiki.

His shinobi senses enabled him to pick up snippets of the conversation or argument that Shiki is having with Gaara and Haku.

"…this is ridiculous!" Haku was saying angrily. "Why can't you just accept your feelings and admit that you're in love with a certain weasel?!"

"And why can't you understand that it's _impossible _between us?!" Shiki snapped back at Haku.

"Come on now, girls. People are starting to stare—" Gaara tried to say only to wisely shut up when he met the death glares of two pissed off girls head on.

"And why is it _impossible?" _Haku demanded, turning back towards her best friend and teammate as if the interruption by Gaara had never taken place.

"A number of reasons, Haku!" said Shiki in exasperation, throwing her hands up.

"Well, name it," said Haku stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot on the floor in a steady rhythm.

"Number one, he's my _friend," _said Shiki tiredly, holding up one finger as she spoke. "And last that I check, friends _don't _date each other—"

"And how do you explain Lee and Sakura then?" interrupted Haku. "They got together two years ago, didn't they? After Sakura had accepted Lee as a friend and convince him to get a haircut and his eyebrows trimmed, that is."

One argument, shot down.

"Number two, he probably don't feel the same way that I do, and I don't want to ruin any friendship that I have with—"

"If he didn't, he wouldn't have reacted so strongly when you went off to ask that Oto-nin about Orochimaru just now," interrupted Haku, both herself and Gaara having bought Shiki's excuse when she claimed that she was asking Sai about Orochimaru when she went off alone to speak with him earlier.

Haku = 2. Shiki = 0.

"And number three, he's a Wind shinobi!" said Shiki hastily. "Long distance relationships are never going to work between us."

Haku and Gaara exchanged glances before the latter coughed politely and Haku looked at Shiki as if she had suddenly grown two new heads. "Have you forgotten that you're Fire Kingdom's ambassador, Shiki?" asked Haku, amused. "After the princess headed to Fire, you're going to have to travel between Fire and Wind frequently. And besides, there's always a chance that Itachi is going to be one of the three shinobis sent to the Fire along with the princess as part of the marriage alliance agreement."

"The king wouldn't send one of his best shinobis to the Fire," said Shiki incredulously, staring at Haku as if _she _was the one with two new heads now. "He's the Captain of Wind Kingdom's shinobi forces! Furthermore, Sasuke is his brother, and you know as well as I do that Itachi wouldn't just abandon his brother like this!"

"Then you obviously don't know the king very well," said Haku tiredly. "He will want the best shinobis to guard his daughter, even if it means that he will lose three of his best shinobis to the Fire Kingdom."

Itachi decided to interrupt just then. "Excuse me," he said politely, and the eyes of the three Fire ninjas turned towards him.

"We'll leave you alone," said Haku, tugging on Gaara's sleeve. "Come on, Gaara."

"What?" Shiki scowled at Itachi, obviously having not forgotten the argument that they just had.

Itachi sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for what I said earlier, alright?" he said. "I didn't mean any of it! It's just…we don't have very good experiences with Oto, and anyone would assume the same thing."

"I can accept it if it's just 'anyone'," said Shiki, making quote marks in the air. "But you…we knew each other for _four years._ I am just as affected by the massacre on your clan four years ago like you and Sasuke are! You think that I don't hate Oto for this?"

"Look, I'm really sorry," said Itachi desperately. "So, can we like just…forget about it?"

Shiki looked at Itachi and her expression softened. "Maybe I went a little too far as well," she muttered. "I was asking that Oto-nin about Orochimaru." She told Itachi the same lie that she had told Haku and Gaara. "He wasn't present in the party, and I was worried that he may be trying to pull something."

"I…see…" muttered Itachi, feeling rather foolish. He then held his arm out. "May I have the honours of a dance?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Later that night:_

"They're asleep?" asked Itachi as Shiki walked out of the prince's room. It was Gaara's turn to guard Konohamaru that day and Neji's turn to guard the princess. The Fire and Wind shinobis were taking it in turns to guard the prince and the princess because of the events of that day. In the usual way, if a shinobi is placed on bodyguard duty for a member of the royal family, they're on guard all twenty-four hours of the day without any sleep. But this time, they're taking it in turns because of the events of that day.

Shiki nodded. "Gaara is with him now," she said. "And Neji is with the princess. I'll like to see anyone try to get past the two of them. They're some of the best shinobis that we have in the Fire Kingdom."

"The moon is beautiful tonight," said Itachi, looking out of the window in the dark hallway of the prince's bedchambers that they're both currently in.

"Aa," agreed Shiki, looking at the full moon hanging in the night sky outside the window. "It's beautiful. It's been a while since I've looked at the night sky."

Itachi smiled slightly as he looked at Shiki. "Come with me," he said. "I want to show you something."

**

* * *

**"It's beautiful," said Shiki as they both lay down in the meadow that Itachi had brought her to. The meadow was situated near the borders of the capital city of Wind Kingdom. It was breathtakingly beautiful…with all the moon lilies growing in the field, along with a lake and with the moon currently shining down with it's radiant light, along with the millions of stars shining like diamonds in the velvety black sky, it made a beautiful picture.

"I always come here whenever I wanted some time alone," said Itachi. "I always come here during my day offs as well."

There was silence for a while.

"After the duel earlier," said Shiki, sitting up and Itachi rolled over so that he's lying on his stomach on the soft grass, watching the redhead. "That's the first time that I've seen the prince so happy before."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Mind elaborating?" he asked.

"Not at all," said Shiki. "I was his tutor ever since he was a kid, and I know him better than anyone else. Maybe I knew him better than he knows himself. Konohamaru is never truly happy back in the Fire Kingdom. He doesn't really have any friends. All the children in town only look at him as the prince, never as himself."

Itachi sighed. "Sometimes, being royalty can be a bit of a pain as well," he admitted and Shiki nodded. "The princess went through that too before she met Udon. Udon is the only son of one of Wind Kingdom's finest shinobis. But that shinobi was unfortunately killed when he was only three. The princess and Udon were playmates, and that's why the king allowed him to live in the palace as the princess's aide whilst he's training to be a ninja. When the prince came here, it was also the first time that I've seen the princess truly smile."

"They truly loved each other," said Shiki softly. "I'm happy for them." She laid back on the grass, raising her right hand above her face and positioned it so that she was covering her view of the moon, only seeing snippets of it through the gaps between her fingers. "I wonder though…if I'll ever meet that someone special for me who also feels the same?"

"You seeing someone lately?" asked Itachi, not really wanting to know the answer to that question.

Shiki laughed, letting her hand fall to her side. "Not really," she said. "But Neji and I used to date before." Itachi felt as if a knife had just dug into his heart. "But we split up about two years ago as we felt that we're better off being friends." Itachi can't help feeling relief and he was sure that that relief showed on his face as well. "He's now dating his teammate and my friend, Tenten." Shiki then rolled over so that she's lying on her stomach as well. "What about you, Itachi? Anyone caught your eye recently?"

"Only one," said Itachi with a laugh. "But I don't know if she feels the same."

"Yeah?"

Itachi blinked as he noticed how close he was to Shiki. Their faces were nearly touching. Without realising what he's doing, his hand reached out and was suddenly in Shiki's hair before he rolled her over on the grass and was straddling her, kissing her passionately. The moment that he realised what he's doing, Itachi reeled back in horror, getting off Shiki who looked shocked. "I-I'm sorry," said Itachi quickly. "I didn't realise…I-I'm sorry, Shiki."

"Don't go," said Shiki, grabbing Itachi's hand before he can leave. Itachi turned back to look at her in surprise. There was an unreadable look on her face as she looked at Itachi. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. "How you really felt about me before? How you liked me enough to kiss me?"

"I thought that you didn't feel the same," said Itachi simply. "And I didn't want to risk losing our friendship."

"You're an idiot, Uchiha Itachi," said Shiki and Itachi turned to look at her. She smiled. "I've fallen for you, Uchiha Itachi, from the very first moment when I saw you in Wind Kingdom four years ago. You're the only man who had ever made me feel this way." She smiled softly as Itachi smiled back. "I love you."

Itachi was suddenly kissing her again, only that this time, it was intentional, not unintentional. The kiss ended as soon as it had begun, smiling at her. "I love you too."

**

* * *

**Somewhere behind some trees in the meadow where Itachi and Shiki were, Uchiha Sasuke and Shisei Haku grinned to themselves, exchanging glances with each other.

"Took you long enough, Brother," said Sasuke.

Haku smiled at her best friend, though she knew that Shiki couldn't see her from where she was. "I told you that he feels the same way," she said.

Sasuke and Haku then exchanged glances before the former smiled at Haku, holding out his hand for her. "Shall we get going then?" he asked. "Before they catches us spying on them, that is."

"Yeah."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, in the palace of Wind Kingdom, the king of Wind Kingdom was still up in his study, studying the several papers in front of him, several which are the profiles of several of Wind Kingdom's shinobis which he's trying to decide which shinobi to send with his daughter to the Fire Kingdom as part of the marriage alliance agreement.

He had already decided on the first shinobi: Hatake Kakashi.

The king paused as he noticed a paper on his desk which seemed to have already been there for two weeks. It was a request of transfer from one of his best shinobis. The king smiled to himself before reaching for the profile of Uchiha Sasuke and scribbled some words at the bottom, sending the younger Uchiha boy as the second shinobi to Fire Kingdom.

The king then took his quill and looked down at the request paper which he was reading a while ago and smiled sadly, yet contently as the name of the one that had sent in that request stared at him back in the face: _Uchiha Itachi._

He filled his quill with ink and wrote the words on the request paper which will make it permanent and cause the Wind Kingdom to lose one of their finest shinobis.

'_Request for permanent residence and transferral to Fire Kingdom as one of the shinobis involved in the marriage alliance agreement between Wind and Fire…approved.'_


	11. Returning Home

Sorry for the late update, people! I have a case of writer's block…_again._ Anyway, the festival part of this chapter is mostly inspirited from episode thirteen of the third season of the Jigoku Shoujo anime. I also have a new story up. It's another AU story, a vampire story actually. I'll appreciate it if you can read 'Konoha's Academy', this new story, and drop off a review or two.

I hope that you like this chapter, and please read and review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Returning Home**

_Somewhere in Fire Kingdom:_

"Konan?"

Konan looked up to see Deidara walking into the apartment that Tsunade had allotted for them in the Fire Kingdom. It had been a week since their arrival to the Fire Kingdom, and the Akatsuki are slowly learning the customs and ways of the Fire Kingdom as a whole.

The Akatsuki still remained a team, taking on missions together, and Tsunade had agreed to their request, and made them an official ninja squad under her command so that people won't talk.

Deidara threw a can of some beverage to Konan which she caught easily, nodding to Deidara. "Thanks," she said, opening the can with a slight pop.

Deidara then settled himself down on the windowsill of the apartment. The rest of the Akatsuki are currently out somewhere. Sasori was saying something about stocking his weapons whilst Kisame had gone exploring or something.

"The princess…" Konan broke the silence first. "I wonder what she'll be like now? Will she recognise us? Or will she stay the same as before?"

Silence.

"I don't know," said Deidara at last. "But no matter what…she'll always be our princess."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Wind Kingdom:_

The king from the Wind Kingdom himself came to see the shinobis from the Fire off personally on the day of their departure…along with the princess, the prince from the Fire, Udon, along with Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi – the latter three being the representatives sent to Fire as part of the alliance between Fire and Wind.

The shinobis finished saddling their horses quickly, with said horses standing patiently, waiting for their masters to get on their backs, before Shiki went to saddle Konohamaru's pony properly, ensuring that the reins are tight enough, along with the saddles, whilst Itachi was checking the princess's pony. Haku and Sasuke were checking on Udon's pony, with said boy standing by them as the older shinobis pointed out what he had done wrong with the saddling and showing him how to saddle a horse properly.

As the three children were still rather young and short at the moment, they can only ride ponies as they still weren't used to the high speed that a shinobi trained horse goes. Finally, after Kakashi had checked over all the supplies that the Wind-turned-Fire shinobis had taken, he nodded to himself. Kakashi, Sasuke and Itachi had taken most of their most precious belongings to them which equals to two bags per horse, and their own horses weren't looking too happy at the amount of baggage that they must carry…along with the weight of their riders.

"Alright, all ready?" Kakashi called out, and there was a chorus of 'yes's. He then turned to the king as Haku and Sasuke helped to hoist the prince and princess atop their ponies and showed Udon how to get on his before the two headed to where the king is standing to say their final farewells.

"It's been a very eventful week, but we of the Wind Kingdom thank you for your valuable help and assistance," said the king politely.

"The pleasure's all ours, Your Majesty," said Shiki politely, taking the lead as the leader of the mission. "Rest assured that we will safely escort the princess back to the Fire Kingdom. We will ensure that no harm comes to her."

"Don't worry, I believe in your ability, Namikaze Shiki," said the king. He then turned serious. "But I want _all _of you to be careful. The scouts from the Wind Kingdom have reported seeing various sightings of Oto shinobis around the borders of Fire and Wind…as well as the forests that surrounded our individual lands."

Shiki and Itachi exchanged glances before turning back to the king and nodding. "Don't worry, we'll be careful," said Shiki. She then saluted the king, along with the rest of her group before heading to where Natsu is waiting patiently and got on his back. "Alright, let's go! We've got a long ride ahead of us."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Nearly five days later, the group was soon at the borders of Fire Kingdom.

They had mostly camped outdoors with tents, with the girls (Haku, Shiki and the princess) sharing one tent, with the boys sharing two tents between them, having at least two shinobis on guard duty throughout the night, taking four hour shifts each time.

Sasuke and Haku had mostly done the hunting part for their food, and the group has to stop several times as the prince and princess weren't used to travelling and they often had to stop in order for the prince and princess to rest, and also to allow their horses to take a drink from the nearby stream.

Currently, it's the fifth day of travel, and the sun was slowly setting. Sasuke had gone to find a river to refill their water canisters as all of their water canisters were bordering on empty. Shiki was seated on the forest bed, her back resting against a tree as Itachi and Gaara were checking their food supplies.

They had only brought enough food with them to last them five days, and it seems like they'll have to stay in an inn tonight.

Shiki frowned and looked up into the sky as she heard a shrill cry. The other shinobis heard it too – and so did Sasuke who was returning with their water canisters – and as one, all shinobis present raised their heads to the sky to see a white messenger pigeon circling the sky, calling out shrilly before dropping down and landing on Shiki's arm.

All the shinobis froze in whatever that they're doing to see Shiki get up from the ground calmly before removing the message that was tied to the pigeon's leg before the pigeon took off into the sky once more, his message delivered.

Shiki frowned as she unrolled the piece of paper and read the message quickly, her eyes scanning down the contents of the letter and scowled to herself before she burned the letter quickly and looked at her fellow shinobis who got the message immediately and crowded around her and they squatted down on the ground in a semi-circle, talking in low voices so that Udon, the prince as well as the princess can't overhear them from where they're standing.

"What is it?" asked Haku urgently.

"It's an urgent message from Neji and Hinata," said Shiki in a low voice quickly. "About four days ago, the entire shinobi forces of Fire Kingdom were put on alert. Especially since we're expecting the princess from Wind anytime soon, our security had been stepped up after what had happened in the Wind Kingdom."

Gaara frowned, exchanging looks with Haku. "That means that the king got back safely," he stated and Shiki nodded.

"Kurenai-san and Asuma-san were with him when he headed back to the Fire Kingdom, so I'm not too worried," she said. "The moment that the king returned, he told the queen everything that had happened in the Wind Kingdom, and the entire shinobi forces of Fire Kingdom were hereby put on alert." She sighed. "They're expecting some trouble from Oto."

Kakashi frowned. "Well, I don't blame them," he said bluntly. "We all know what Oto is like, and after the prince had beaten that lapdog of Orochimaru's, we're all worried. I know for sure that the king had stepped up security at Wind Kingdom as there was double the guards usually used posted all around Wind Kingdom and the palace. It makes sense that Fire Kingdom will do the same as well."

Shiki nodded. "Well, most of the captains and vice-captains of the tracking and hunter teams were paired up and sent all over the kingdom on scouting missions, along with several of our best scouts," she said. "The normal members of their individual teams were placed in the capital city on standby, and other shinobis were stationed all around the villages and towns in Fire Kingdom. Most of the Royal Guard were all called back to guard the palace and Konoha as well."

Haku whistled. "Damn, the queen is a little paranoid if you ask me," she said. "It makes me feel like we're preparing for war."

Everyone present laughed. "Better safe than sorry," said Sasuke and everyone agreed.

Gaara frowned, his brain working furiously as he exchanged looks with Shiki and Haku. All three of them were with the Royal Guard – the best shinobis of Fire Kingdom – and knew the workings of Fire Kingdom inside out. "Kiba and the rest?" he questioned.

"Kiba and Shino were paired up as well to scout Fire Kingdom," said Shiki. "As for your brother and sister…the queen sent them to Horai village to check out the status in the areas around that village. Anyway, Hinata and Neji sent that message just now, and one back to Fire Kingdom as well. They've spotted some suspicious characters near the southern border of Fire Kingdom. And Neji suspected that those were Oto shinobis."

"The southern border…?" Haku said slowly, exchanging frightened looks with Gaara and Shiki both before looking towards the prince and princess and back to her friends. "That's not far from here!"

Shiki nodded grimly. The rest of the shinobis hung onto her every word. "Zabuza happened to be in the vicinity where Hinata and Neji were, on some assignment for the king, and Hinata and Neji managed to get him to help them out upon the completion of his assignment," she said. "Zabuza followed one of those Oto-nins back to wherever they were hiding, and he kind of lost them at the north-eastern borders between Fire Kingdom and Eagle Creek."

"Wait…you just said Eagle Creek, didn't you?" said Itachi slowly and Shiki nodded. He quickly unrolled a map that he had with him before spreading it out onto the ground before them, and all six heads crowded around it, with Sasuke lighting a lantern and placing it near the map so that they can see the map properly as it was getting dark by then. Itachi finally found what he's looking for and he snorted. "Either those Oto-nins are plain suicidal by going through Eagle Creek, or there is a secret entrance that we aren't aware of."

The remaining five shinobis could see what Itachi meant as the older Uchiha jabbed his forefinger somewhere in the middle of the map. Throughout all kingdoms, all shinobis usually tried to avoid passing by Eagle Creek, and going _right through it_ is considered suicidal.

Eagle Creek was the home of many youkais and demons, and it was said that Eagle Creek was also the lair of the Dragoon demons – the demon world's strongest demons – second in power to only the dragon demons. No shinobi can hope to get through Eagle Creek unscathed especially since most demons hated humans with a passion and won't hesitate to kill if any human had the unfortunate luck to run into them. And it also didn't help that a certain particular forest surrounded Eagle Creek as well…

"The Forbidden Forest surrounded Eagle Creek as well." Haku pointed out, referring to the one forest that all shinobis from all over avoided like the plague. "Even if those Oto-nins are lucky enough to get through Eagle Creek _without_ being spotted by a SINGLE demon in that place which is virtually impossible, they can't hope to get through the Forbidden Forest. People go missing all the time in that place, even shinobis!"

Sasuke snorted. "No shit," he said. "That's the vampires' lair. They'll kill you faster than you can say 'ninja' if you so much as step foot in there. And it's impossible for any shinobi for that matter to avoid their senses."

"Yeah, Zabuza thought the same thing too, and he took the long way around Eagle Creek and the Forbidden Forest to get to the other side," said Shiki, jabbing her finger somewhere in the middle of the map. The area which she's pointing at identified it as an island of some sort.

Kakashi frowned. "Mist Isle?" he mused, having gone there only once in his shinobi career and for good reason too. Treacherous rocks surrounded the coastline where a ship or a boat will dock at the docks of the island, and the waves were always heavy and angry near that island. Even a skilled sailor will have trouble landing on that island safely.

Sasuke frowned. "Isn't Mist Isle the shinobi prison?" he asked. Mist Isle was guarded by shinobis from all six of the main kingdoms in existence, and it's precisely the nature of the island which makes it suitable for the shinobi prison as it's impossible to escape from Mist Isle.

"Technically, the part where Oto were gathered _is_ a part of Mist Isle, but it's no longer in use," said Shiki patiently. Seeing the others' enquiring looks, she proceeded to explain. "I've been to Mist Isle once four years ago when I first became the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces. The Fire shinobis stationed there explained the geography and layout of that island to me. In the past, Mist Isle was used as a sort of execution grounds for the kingdoms of old." She explained, sending goose-bumps down the spines of everyone present. "As such, the island was separated into two parts – the actual prison itself and the execution grounds. Until now, the layout of the island didn't change. The execution ground was separated from the actual prison by a mountain, and you have to cross a long bridge to get over the mountain. But because the bridge was too old and dangerous, the kings and queens of the six major powers decided to seal off the execution grounds, and made an execution room in the underground level of the prison."

"Let me guess, that old execution ground is where the Oto-nins are?" Haku interrupted and Shiki nodded.

"Zabuza managed to follow that lone Oto-nin all the way to where Oto's forces were gathered _without_ being seen," said Shiki grimly. "It had been raining the past few days at Mist Isle, and mist and fog were cloaking the areas surrounding it, but it didn't matter. Even a half-blind man would have seen the number of troops gathered at the old execution grounds. They're planning something, that's for sure."

"Damn…" muttered Gaara, muttering some well chosen swear words under his breath. "We never even dreamt that they'll be at Mist Isle. That's the only place which is of equal distance to all six of the major kingdoms right now."

"The shinobis at Mist Isle were given the order to evacuate all the prisoners to the underground prison levels until we could sort this problem out," said Shiki. "Quietly, of course, since we don't want to alert Oto."

"Anyway, we can't camp out tonight if they're so near us." Kakashi decided, which everyone agreed to. "What's the nearest village to us right now?"

"Horai village," answered Haku, Gaara and Shiki simultaneously. Haku jabbed one finger somewhere at the top of the map. "We have to stay the night there today. I think Temari and Kankuro are still there."

"Alright, pack up and let's head to the village now," said Shiki. "It's best if we get back to the capital city as soon as possible. We need to know the situation."

The other shinobis agreed.

**

* * *

**_Horai village:_

Brilliant lights and festive sounds greeted the shinobis as they entered the village. Booths were set up in the village and the villagers were all dressed in festival kimonos. There were a few shinobis stationed at the entrance of the village on duty, and they all nodded to their superiors before allowing them entry.

"Oh, I forgot that today is a festival day!" said Haku, turning towards her friends. "It completely slipped my mind especially with everything that has happened the past week!"

"What festival is it?" asked Sasuke with interest as they got off their horses and pulled them by their reins before some random Fire shinobi took their horses to the village's horse stables. Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were looking all around them in delight, never seeing an actual village festival before.

"It's the Scripture Lantern festival," said Shiki as she led them towards the riverbank of the village where it's void of people. "In the past, criminals come here for expiation from afar. Knowing the feelings of those criminals, the village elder wrote their sins on lanterns, put their hair on them as a replacement and ferried them down this river with a scripted tag. That was the start of the Scripture Lantern Festival."

"Expiation, huh?" mused Kakashi. "We had a festival like this in Wind Kingdom as well, but in our case, we ferried lanterns towards the heavens instead."

"Yeah well, recently, this festival has become things wanted to be forgotten instead of sins," said Haku with a shrug. "The Scripture Lantern festival is the one festival where all shinobis from Fire Kingdom were given a day off at the same time. This is the one festival which history is covered in detail back in the Academy."

Shiki sighed. "We might as well enjoy the festival today," she said, looking at her friends. "Even shinobis…we have something that we want to forget as well. And we might as well let the prince and princess enjoy a village festival for the first time in their lives." She added, glancing at the three youngest in their group who were playing by the side of the river.

"I'll find an inn for the night today," said Kakashi. "Sasuke, can you help me with the bags? And bring the prince, the princess and Udon along as well."

"Okay."

**

* * *

**It was two hours later before they settled into an inn for the night with two rooms – one for the boys and another for the girls. They were lucky enough as it is to get two inn rooms as nearly all the inns were fully booked with the festival. Kakashi had volunteered to be the prince's and princess's shinobi guard for that day in order to allow the youngsters some alone time with each other.

"Ara? Shiki?"

Shiki blinked as she turned to see Temari and Kankuro staring at her and her friends. "Temari! Kankuro!" she said as the two walked up to them. "I forgot that you'll be here!"

"Yeah well, we're supposed to be heading back to Konoha in three days," said Kankuro with a nonchalant shrug, a popsicle stick jutting out in between his lips. He then glanced curiously at Itachi and Sasuke before looking back at Shiki. "Aren't you three supposed to be on a diplomatic mission?"

"Yeah, we're still in the middle of it. That's why we decided to stay at an inn for the night," said Haku. "This is Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke from the Wind Kingdom. They're the ones who were sent to the Fire Kingdom as part of the alliance." She gestured towards the Uchiha brothers whom both nodded politely, a gesture which was fully returned. "We heard about what had happened from Neji and Hinata." Haku added, and Temari and Kankuro's faces darkened. "Is it really that bad?"

Temari sighed and Kankuro ran his fingers through his hair. "Neji only told you the barest facts," said Temari, muttering something beneath her breath. "There's only so much that we can put in carrier messages, as you very well know, in fear of interception." Gaara, Haku and Shiki nodded. "There have been random attacks on Fire shinobis of late. Thankfully, it isn't serious, but those assailants appear to be Oto-nins."

"Did we catch any of them?" asked Gaara with a frown. Itachi and Sasuke remained quiet, listening with interest.

Temari frowned. "No," she said with a sigh. "They bit down on poison capsules hidden in their mouths the moment we caught them, killing themselves instantly. We have no information so far. Both the king and queen are worried…especially with what had happened back at Wind. It's only a matter of time before Oto makes it's move."

Shiki nodded grimly. "We'll deal with it when the time comes," she said. She then changed the subject abruptly. "Are you two here to enjoy the festival as well?"

Temari laughed. "Yeah, we hadn't really been to a festival much ever since—" Temari stopped abruptly, and the five Fire shinobis fell silent. They knew that Temari meant to say that they hadn't been to a festival ever since Yahiko's death four years ago.

Kankuro quickly changed the subject as they were getting weird looks from the Uchiha brothers. "Anyway, we're going to get something to eat at the festival," he said hastily. "Catch you guys later."

"Yeah. Later." Shiki called out as Temari and Kankuro left them.

"Why don't we go to the riverbank now?" suggested Haku. "They're about to release the lanterns now."

"Yeah."

**

* * *

**The riverbank was crowded with the villagers when Shiki and the rest of her friends arrived. The scripted lanterns were also bobbing along the river, going with the flow of the current. A few villagers were kneeling by the side of the river, releasing their scripted lanterns onto the river and saying a short prayer beneath their breaths before releasing it onto the river.

Haku, Gaara and Shiki exchanged looks with each other before they made a beeline towards the booth by the side of the riverbank to get a scripted lantern and a scripted tag, much to Itachi's and Sasuke's surprise.

"Things that we want to forget, huh?" mused Sasuke, looking at all the lanterns bobbing on the water of the river. "You going, aniki?"

"I don't think so," said Itachi, deadpanned. "Why don't you give it a try, little brother?"

Sasuke stared at the booth for a moment before giving a one shoulder shrug. "Yeah, I think I will," he said before heading towards the booth as well.

**

* * *

**Haku wrote the words 'Yahiko' in kanji on the scripted tag that she was given before attaching it to the side of the lantern and lit the candle within it before setting the lantern on the makeshift raft that was made for the lantern and seeing it float down the river.

She knew that Gaara had written the same thing that she did, and if Temari and Kankuro decided to participate in the festival as well, it will be the same thing that they will write as well. None of the five who had grew up at Hope Orphanage had slept well ever since Yahiko's death, and it isn't him as a person that they want to forget, but the brutal way in which he had died.

"Are you done?" asked a voice, and Haku looked up to see Gaara and Sasuke walking up to her, the latter holding a lantern and a scripted tag, looking unsure of what to do.

"Ne, Haku. What do I do?" asked Sasuke uncertainly, looking at the lantern and the scripted tag that he was holding.

"You write what you want to forget on the scripted tag itself," explained Gaara, tapping the tag that Sasuke was holding. "Then you attach it to the side of the lantern before lighting the candle in it and letting it float down the river."

Sasuke looked pointedly at Gaara before the redhead got the picture and turned around so that his back is facing Sasuke in order to give the raven-haired male some privacy.

"Do you want me to turn around as well?" asked Haku carefully, knowing that during the Scripture Lantern festival, the things that shinobis wanted to forget are usually quite delicate for them, and they wanted some privacy during times like these.

"No, you can look if you want to," said Sasuke with a small and sad smile before getting down on one knee and writing the words 'Father and Mother' in kanji on the scripted tag before attaching it to the side of the lantern.

Haku's eyes widened for a moment, but she understood. Shiki had told her about the Uchiha clan massacre after she had returned to the Fire Kingdom four years ago, and she knew from Shiki's stories that Sasuke is more deeply affected by the massacre than Itachi. She watched as Sasuke lit the candle with a match that he had with him before setting the lantern on the makeshift raft and watching it float down the river with all the other scripted lanterns.

"Let's go and find Shiki," said Haku after a moment or two. She sighed. "Every year on this day, she'll usually be in a particularly foul mood."

Itachi came up to them at this point and the shinobis nodded to him in greeting.

"Shiki never used to participate in the festival…like the rest of us," said Gaara, staring at all the lanterns bobbing along the river, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "But I think unlike us, she had something else that she wanted to forget. Maybe this time, she'll be able to write it down."

"If you're looking for Shiki, I saw her heading in that direction earlier," said Itachi, pointing down the riverbank where there were less people crowded around the riverbank.

"Let's go and find her," said Haku before she led the way towards Shiki. It was only a few moments later before everyone saw Shiki kneeling down by the side of the riverbank on one knee, looking at the scripted tag in her hand. "Shiki!"

Shiki looked up to see her friends. "Hey," she said. "You done?"

"Yeah," said Haku. She then noticed the tag in Shiki's hand. "You hadn't?"

"Not yet," said Shiki.

"You want us to turn around or something?" asked Gaara and Shiki looked at him.

"Yeah, that'll be appreciated," said Shiki, and as one, the remaining four turned around so that their backs were facing Shiki. There were a few moments before Shiki spoke again. "I'm done."

The moment that Haku, Gaara, Itachi and Sasuke turned around again, Shiki had attached the scripted tag to the lantern and lit the candle in it quickly before setting it on the makeshift raft. She then got up.

"Let's head back to the inn," she said. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Shiki, Haku and Gaara then walked away from the riverbank with Sasuke following them. Itachi was about to follow when he saw that Shiki's lantern was trapped between the side of the riverbank and a lone tree branch floating in the river. He bent down to free the lantern from the tree branch and stiffened as he saw the words written in the redhead's delicate handwriting on the scripted tag: _'Father and Mother.'_

Itachi remained kneeling by the side of the river, staring like an idiot as he watched Shiki's lantern float down the river slowly, joining the other lanterns on their journey to reach the goddess Suzaku – the goddess that Fire Kingdom worshipped – one of the four mythical gods in the elemental kingdoms.

His mind was in a whirl. The moment that he thought he had figured Shiki out, another mystery concerning her popped out.

'_Father… Mother…?' _Itachi wondered, his brain working a hundred miles per minute. He thought back to what he had remembered Shiki saying four years ago when she had first came to Wind Kingdom. _'Didn't Shiki say that she don't remember her parents? What is going on here?'_

"Aniki, are you coming?"

Itachi turned around to see that Sasuke was standing behind him, wearing a curious expression on his face.

"Y-Yeah. I'm coming."

Itachi hurried after his younger brother, bumping into an orange-haired male wearing a black trench coat over his shinobi attire, a white bandanna tied around his right arm, the man who was holding a scripted lantern and a scripted tag.

"Sorry," apologised Itachi before the man nodded politely to him and hurried after his brother.

Nagato turned to look at the departing back of the raven-haired teenager who had bumped into him before shrugging and walking towards the riverbank of the river before getting down on one knee, writing the words 'Yahiko' in kanji and attaching it to the side of his lantern. He then lit the candle within it before setting it on the makeshift raft and watch it float down the river.

'_Rest in peace, Yahiko,' _thought Nagato. _'I'll avenge you soon enough. And I'm sure that Konan is praying for you at the festival as well…wherever she is.'_

He then got to his feet, looking at the sky where a full moon hung that night. _'The moon is beautiful tonight…like the day when we first left our village to the Whirlpool Kingdom. Isn't it, Konan?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Meanwhile in Fire Kingdom:_

Konan pushed the lantern gently down the riverbank, watching in silence as her lantern joined the other lanterns of the civilians and shinobis of Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom. She then got to her feet, staring in the direction where her lantern had gone before looking up at the night sky where a full moon hung overhead before turning to leave for home.

'_Rest in peace, Yahiko.'_


	12. Fire versus Oto! Round Two! Fight!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Fire versus Oto! Round Two! Fight!**

It was early morning in the village of Horai. Dawn was just breaking, and the birds were trilling happily as they flew through the air in search of food. A few early risers – most of them the shinobis stationed at the shinobi outpost located a few miles away from the village itself – and a few were the elderly folk of the village – could be seen around the village.

In one of the inns of Horai village, Namikaze Shiki and her group were preparing to head back to Konoha. Haku had been the one to wake the rather disgruntled prince up who most definitely _wasn't _a morning person.

The long and short of it was that they have all nearly finished packing, especially since the shinobis were eager to get back to the capital city of Fire Kingdom as soon as possible so that they can breathe easy, knowing that the prince and princess were both out of danger.

However, the fates seemed to have something different set in store for them…

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Shiki frowned as she looked at the door of the inn room which she shared with the other girls. The males – Kakashi, Sasuke, Itachi, Udon and Konohamaru – were all currently in their room, having finished packing, and were now waiting for the girls to finish _their _packing.

"Who can it be?" muttered Shiki as she walked towards the door and opened it to see a serious looking Temari standing at her door. "Temari?"

Temari sighed in relief at seeing Shiki. "Shiki, I'm sorry," said Temari hastily. "I _know _that you have to head back to Konoha, but I need your help."

Shiki looked at Temari with something akin to exasperation, ignoring the curious looks from the others behind her. "Must it really be me who helps?" she asked with exasperation, hands planted on her hips.

"We received some…strange transmission from one of the shinobis at Horai Village's shinobi outpost," explained Temari. "We can't make out that transmission, and Kankuro found the body of the shinobi who had made that transmission earlier in the woods near the village. A team has been dispatched to the area where his body was found. But we need you to help us decipher the message."

Shiki studied Temari for a few moments without saying anything before she finally sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "…fine," she muttered, grumbling something below her breath. She turned back towards the other shinobis in the inn room. "Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi. Stay with the prince and princess as well as Udon. You help us to do the booking out of the inn rooms, and remain in the attached restaurant downstairs. This is strictly a Fire matter, and I'm really sorry about this, but you're not official Fire shinobis yet, and someone needs to guard the prince and princess. Gaara, Haku. Come."

Those mentioned nodded mutely, and they exited the inn room, following Temari who seemed rather worried and frantic at the same time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Horai village's shinobi outpost:_

The shinobi outpost is basically like some sort of watch tower built side-by-side along each other, with a good distance between them where a gate was situated. All shinobi outposts in Fire Kingdom have communication devices that enabled them to communicate with the control room in the capital city of the Fire Kingdom, in the event of emergency. There were several shinobi outposts all over the kingdom, and usually, a minimum of five shinobis will be stationed at each outpost – three watching the sky and whatever ground that they can see from the outpost tower – one at the communications room to listen for any incoming transmissions – and the last one a medic-nin.

Currently, Shiki, Gaara and Haku were in the communications room of the shinobi outpost near Horai village. The five shinobis assigned to this shinobi outpost were doing their duties as usual, and the shinobi manning the communications room was seated in a chair next to Kankuro who was at the table, headphones over the brunette's ears as he frowned deeply, adjusting the dial of the communications radio every now and then.

"Kankuro!"

Kankuro looked up as his sister and friends entered, and he brightened up, removing the headphones over his ears. "Glad to see that you could make it," he said, nodding to Shiki.

Shiki sighed. "Status and report?" she asked, in full professional mode.

"Erm…right," said Kankuro, coughing slightly into his hand before clearing his throat and giving Shiki the report. "Myself and Temari were called out to the shinobi outpost sometime past two in the morning last night by the leader of the shinobi outpost here. One of the shinobi scouts sent out by the queen managed to send a frantic emergency transmission to the shinobi outpost here sometime at 01:46am last night, but apparently, the shinobi didn't manage to adjust the frequency to the correct channel, and we kept having static interfering with his transmission. We found his body near the woods not far from the village – approximately ten miles from here."

Every shinobi from Fire Kingdom was issued a transmission radio about the size of their palm in the event of emergency so that shinobis from the nearest shinobi outpost or even the kingdom itself can attend to that emergency immediately. As a result, every shinobi must memorise the numbers of the frequency channels of each communication transmission of each shinobi outpost, as every shinobi outpost have different frequency channels.

"Ten miles from the shinobi outpost…" muttered Gaara, trying to rack his brain at what he could recall of the kingdom's geography before he recalled the forest that his brother was talking about, and turned to look at a copy of Fire Kingdom's map pinned on a nearby wall. "The Dark Forest?!"

Kankuro nodded grimly. "Yep," he said. "You got it right in one. The forest which is so heavily infested with demons that it's practically suicidal to go through it. I managed to get in contact with Kiba and Hinata via their communication radio, and they're now helping us to investigate the areas around the Dark Forest."

"And the problem here is?"

"Well…we suspected Oto involvement in this," said Temari grimly, folding her arms over her chest. "And with Horai village less than forty miles away from the capital city, we can't leave this alone. If Oto is indeed involved with this, then they're closer to the capital city than we thought. The transmission from the deceased shinobi is the clue to whatever just took place less than twenty-four hours earlier, but the frequency is off, which is why we can barely hear anything. But whatever that he just transmitted minutes prior to his death is a major clue."

"In other words, we need your help," said Kankuro, turning towards Shiki, Gaara and Haku. "Hinata and Kiba are investigating, and we told them that they are not to engage the enemy if there are any, but to send word to the shinobi outpost, and call for backup."

Shiki sighed and turned towards Haku. The ice user is a hunter with the Royal Guard of Fire Kingdom, and the hunters are usually the one type of shinobis in the kingdom who are professionals at the communications tower.

"Haku. Can you?"

"Leave it to me," said Haku before she took Kankuro's seat and yanked the headphones out from the communications set so that every single person in the room can hear the transmission. "What's the transmission area code number of the shinobi who had sent that transmission?"

"068794032." Kankuro recited as if it had been drilled into his head, which probably is.

Haku nodded before adjusting the several dials on the transmission set in front of her which is used in order to trace back a transmission sent by a shinobi transmission radio before turning on the main dial of the transmission set, and static immediately flooded the room.

"Man, I can tell what you meant," said Gaara, wincing, and covering his ears as Haku had turned it to full volume, before the ice maiden winced and lowered the volume considerably so that it's easier on everyone's ears. "I can barely hear anything but static!"

"…_BbbzzZZZzzz…en…ZZZzzzzZZZzzzBbbzzz…th…ZZZzzzBbbzzz…dan…ZZZzzzZZZzzz…ger…Zzz…"_

Shiki frowned. "Well, we _can_ make out a few words if we listen closely, but I can't make head or tail of it," she said. "Haku, can you do anything?"

"Probably," muttered Haku, her brows furrowed in concentration as she continued spinning the frequency dial on the transmission set. "If I can adjust the transmission to the frequency which the shinobi used when he sent this transmission, we can trace back the transmission which he transmitted."

"Yes, and that's the problem," said Kankuro. "There are over a thousand frequency channels that shinobis use for transmissions! It'll take forever!"

"You just leave it to me," muttered Haku, turning the frequency dial, trying to adjust the frequency channel. "I'll manage it somehow."

Everyone watched Haku as she furrowed her brows in concentration, frowning deeply as she tried to trace back the exact frequency channel which the shinobi had used. Everyone was getting a major headache just listening to nothing but static for the past ten minutes, and the shinobi manning the communications room had excused himself a while back. Shiki sighed as she made a mental note to herself to have the Research Department improve the functions of their transmission radios.

"…_BBBbbbbZZZzzz…dan…ZZZzzzZZZzzzBBBbbbZZZzzz…ger…ZZZzzzZZZ…Ho…rai…ZZZzzz…out…ZZZzzz…post…"_

"You're nearly there, Haku!" said Temari with encouragement. "We distinctly heard a few words clearly earlier!"

"Don't rush me!" snapped Haku, furrowing her brows further in concentration. "Earlier…that's frequency 69.28… Let's try this one…" Haku muttered some words below her breath.

"…zzzZZZ_…BBBzZZZzzz… This is…Takahiro…! ZZZzzzzBBBbbbZZZzzz…"_

"Nearly there, Haku!" urged Gaara. "Come on!"

"Not this frequency as well?" muttered Haku. "I thought that it's that. Then it should be frequency 69.365."

"…"

"……"

"…_calling Horai's outpost—" _

Haku breathed a sigh of relief. "Found it!" she said in relief before turning up the volume. "Now quieten down. Here comes the transmission."

Everyone quietened down.

"_Calling Horai's outpost! This is Amegashi Takahiro, shinobi ID: S048367928! Reporting in…!" _There were the sounds of metal on metal just then – as if the shinobi making that transmission was engaged in battle. _"This is Class A Emergency Alert! Requesting this transmission be transmitted to the control tower of the capital city of Fire Kingdom immediately! Oto-nins…!" _There was the sound of a scream before it died away, and the transmitter was panting heavily. _"…approximately…seven…no, eight squads! Approximately eight squads of Oto-nins…! I overheard them talking…they were talking about a possible alliance with the demons of Eagle Creek and the Dark Forest! As well as possible talks of an alliance with the vampires' inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest! …no…no ideas of the future plans that Oto is talking about before they discovered me…but possible invasion of the Fire Kingdom… Aaaarrrggghhh!"_

There was nothing but static just then, and the transmission was cut off.

The colours on the faces of all Fire shinobis drained just then, and they looked at each other in absolute horror. "…eight squads…?" Haku managed to say weakly, being the first one who had found her voice. "Temari…how many teams did we send out to investigate the areas around the Dark Forest, and how many bodies of the enemy were discovered?" Haku was praying to whatever god up there that the answer wasn't what she feared.

Temari's face was deathly pale as she answered. "Only Kiba and Hinata were sent." She nearly whispered in horror. "Eight squads…?! You have to be joking! Those two are of no match against nearly forty shinobis!"

Shiki groaned. "I was hoping that you wouldn't say that!" she muttered.

There was an urgent beeping just then from the transmission set next to the one that Haku was fiddling about, and all shinobis present turned sharply to see a red blinking light blinking on and off – signalling that a transmission is coming in.

"Incoming transmission!" muttered Haku before she turned the dial of the transmission set to 'receive mode'. "This is Horai's shinobi outpost!"

Breathless panting greeted them as the transmission went through, and Kiba's voice could be heard, sounding both frantic and angry. The sounds of weapons clashing together could be heard, and the occasional scream could be heard as well.

"_Calling Horai's shinobi outpost! This is Vice-Captain Inuzuka Kiba! Shinobi identification number: T709857239! Requesting for the minimum of two shinobi squads as backup to the forests somewhere…near the top of the cliffs…overlooking the Dark Forest! Repeat: requesting immediate backup!"_

The transmission was cut off.

Shiki narrowed her eyes. "I know where Kiba and Hinata are," she stated. "Gaara, Haku, come on! Temari, you come as well. Kankuro, head back to the village and help Kakashi, Itachi and Sasuke to guard the prince and princess as well as the village! Pronto! I only hope that Kiba and Hinata can hold off their opponents long enough for us to get there! Let's go!"

All shinobis present nodded before they hurried out of the shinobi outpost, and four of them took off into the trees after their friends, whilst Kankuro got on one of the horses tethered to the shinobi outpost and took off towards the village, all the time praying that he wouldn't have to attend the funeral of one of his friends.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_With Kiba and Hinata:_

"_Jyuuken!" _Hinata cried out, hitting her opponent in the arm, before her 'opponent' smirked and crumbled into dust. "Damn! Another bunshin?!"

Things were not looking good for Kiba and Hinata. All of a sudden, eight full squads of Oto shinobis have appeared out of the blue, and it was only thanks to Kiba's much improvised version of Gatsuga and Hinata's improved version of her Kaiten that they managed to kill ¾ of their opponents, leaving only one – the leader of the team.

And things weren't looking good for them.

Both of them combined haven't been able to put so much as a scratch on their opponent, especially since they can't even tell the real from the fakes. Not even Hinata's Byakugan can tell the real apart, and this was something which confused them both. Hence the reason why Kiba had called for backup earlier. Even he can tell that this opponent is not someone whom they can take down easily. He knew that Shiki's team was at Horai village a few days ago, and he hoped for his sake that they were still there as he seriously requires their help now.

"What kind of bunshins are those?!" Kiba nearly howled in exasperation as he dodged another attack by their opponent. "I hadn't seen anything like that in my life!"

"Suiton: Suitenhoufutsu! (Water Element: Sky and Water Convergence)" Hinata cried out, forming several handseals quickly.

Kiba's sharp ears caught the sound of water before he looked down at his feet and yelped as he threw himself backwards just in time as an enormous burst of water exploded from the ground which he was standing on earlier, and swirled like a vortex around their opponent.

Kiba blinked and blinked before he regained his senses and yelled at Hinata. "Hinata! A little warning would be nice!"

Hinata blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry!" she apologised.

Both ninjas watched with bated breath as the vortex swirled dangerously around their opponent, practically hiding him from their sight. Hinata was breathing heavily, one knee on the ground, trying to catch her breath back as she watched the vortex with wide eyes.

The water jutsu which she'd just used earlier was incredibly taxing on her chakra, as it's a high A-ranked jutsu for a reason. And not to mention the fact that she'd just about used up all her chakra trying to deal with their current opponent.

"Did you get him?" asked Kiba, breathless, as he stared at the vortex with wide eyes.

Hinata felt her eyes widen in shock as she saw with her Byakugan what Kiba couldn't see. "No! Not yet!"

Before the astonished eyes of the two Fire shinobis, the water vortex swirled about before seemingly being sucked into a 'black hole' of some sort, before the two shinobis saw that this 'black hole' was apparently their own opponent's right hand. His right hand was opened up, and the water was seemingly being absorbed by his hand.

"I'm impressed," said their opponent with a hint of a smirk on his lips. "That you can use a jutsu of this calibre to this level. But can you do this?" He then formed a number of quick handseals before the skies darkened and dark clouds started to cover the skies.

"What?" wondered Hinata, looking up into the sky. "Is it going to rain?"

"Shit!" Kiba cursed before leaping at Hinata, knocking her out of the way in time as a strong blast of lightning struck the spot where Hinata was at moments prior. Both shinobis stared with wide eyes as they watched what they believed only one person was capable of, and said person was a comrade of theirs. "Not good!" Kiba threw Hinata on his back, seeing as how the Hyuuga couldn't walk at present, and threw down a smoke bomb before fleeing the place, and thankfully, their opponent didn't follow them. "We have to run!"

"Kiba-kun? What's wrong?" asked Hinata urgently as she held onto Kiba tightly, her arms wrapped around his neck, Kiba running at impossibly fast speeds through the trees. She could sense Kiba's panic, and this was something odd.

A transmission came through just then, and Hinata flipped Kiba's transmission radio on as he had his hands full with carrying her on his back, and the transmitter on the other end of the transmission stated that Shiki's team will be joining up with them as soon as possible before it went dead.

"Something's weird with that guy!" said Kiba frantically. "That last jutsu that he used…I hadn't seen such jutsus being used by anyone, other than Shiki! We have no choice but to retreat and meet up with her! I'm not idiot enough to think that I can beat someone who can control the weather!"

Hinata blinked. "Control…the weather?" she echoed.

"Yes!" said Kiba. "That's what he just did! Like how Shiki can do, and we've only seen once two years ago when we're on that mission with her! Shiki is the only one who even stands a chance against him."

"What do you mean?"

"Something isn't right here! Shiki is the only one whom I know can control the weather like he can! Yet, for Shiki, she doesn't have to use handseals. It's like second nature to her. I asked Shiki about it once, and she said that she can do it for as long as she can remember. We all assume that it's probably her bloodline. Yet that guy can do it. What is going on here?"

**

* * *

**_With Shiki and co:_

The group of four stopped on the tree branches once more as they watched Haku examined the tree branch that she's currently perched on before turning towards her friends.

"They're moving fast…and apparently, Kiba is carrying Hinata," said Haku, having been trained as a hunter to read tracks. "He seems to be tired, so we might be able to catch up with him if we speed up."

Her friends nodded before all four increased their speed, and the trees practically flashed past them as they leapt from tree branch to tree branch. Shiki who was at the head of the group saw the two whom they were searching for first. "I found them!"

"Kiba! Hinata!" Temari called out.

Kiba stopped before he let Hinata down from his back, allowing her to sit on the tree branch as Shiki, Gaara, Haku and Temari caught up with them. Kiba nodded tiredly to Shiki. "Shiki."

"What's the status?" asked Shiki quickly as Haku went to Hinata and examined her for any injuries.

"Well, we dealt with nearly eight full squads of those Oto dogs sent after us…at the cost of nearly all my chakra," explained Kiba tiredly. "But only one managed to escape from my Gatsuga and Hinata's Kaiten. And that guy…" Kiba chewed on his bottom lip nervously and looked at Shiki. "Shiki. Tell me. Is there anyone else out there who can use the same abilities that you can?"

Shiki looked curiously at Kiba, her head cocked to one side. "What do you mean?"

Hinata was the one who answered her question, seated on the tree branch as Haku healed whatever injuries that Hinata had sustained from her fight with their opponent from earlier. "We've never seen anything like it before," said Hinata tiredly, looking up at Shiki with wide eyes. "His…jutsus and his…ability…whatever it is. We've never seen anything like it. When he formed those…bunshins…not even my Byakugan can tell apart the original from the fakes."

Gaara was shocked. "How is this even possible?" he asked.

Everyone in their graduating class knew that Hinata and Neji both have the bloodline ability to see a person's chakra circulatory system. But while Neji had improvised his Byakugan in which it can extend to a good one hundred feet around him, Hinata had improvised her Byakugan in another way. Because the blue haired Hyuuga is a medic-nin, she had improvised her Byakugan in order to see a person's blood circulatory system and muscles to help her during emergency field medic operations. While a much improvised bunshin had chakra circulatory systems like their creator, they are_ not _able to have blood circulatory systems and muscles. This was about the only way to tell the fakes from the original apart.

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "And it's not only that. When I used my personalised jutsu – Suiton: Suitenhoufutsu – on him, I don't know how he did it, but he somehow managed to absorb my attack!" Hinata continued on, ignoring the shocked looks on the faces of her friends. "Yes, that's right! You heard me correctly. He _absorbed _my jutsu! A high A-ranked water technique which is powerful enough to destroy an entire village and tear a normal person's body apart."

"That's not all, is it?" said Temari, looking from Kiba to Hinata.

Kiba shook his head before looking at Shiki with a weird expression. "Shiki," he said. "Tell me. Is there anyone else who can use the same ability that you can?" He took a deep breath in. "The same ability that you have which you can use to control and manipulate the weather and the five main elements?"

Shock covered the faces of everyone present as they turned to look at Shiki who had just turned extremely pale. "Are you sure, Kiba?" Shiki asked at last, having found her voice.

Kiba nodded. "Yes," he said. "He manipulated the lightning by using handseals to attack Hinata. He would have killed her as well if I hadn't knocked her out of the way. I remembered what you told me before; that you have this ability for as long as you remembered, and the queen and king thinks that it may be your bloodline limit. You can use it like it's second nature to you, but this guy…he used it via handseals."

There was silence for a moment as everyone stared at Shiki. She had her eyes closed; a habit that she had when she was doing her deepest thinking, and everyone wisely shut up and watched the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shiki opened her eyes again and looked at Hinata. "Hinata, what is the colour of your opponent's chakra system that you saw when using your Byakugan?"

Hinata blinked owlishly at Shiki at this strange question before she answered. "A mix between dark purple and blue. I found it odd as well, as I hadn't seen chakra of that colour before."

Shiki sighed. "I knew it," she muttered. She then looked at her friends. "Do you guys remember the missive that we all received about a year or two ago regarding a special squad of the Sound Kingdom with strange abilities?"

Haku's eyes widened as she realised what Shiki was trying to tell everyone. "It can't be…the cursed children?!"

Shiki nodded grimly. About two years ago, all shinobis of vice-captain rank and higher received an important missive from the king and queen of Fire Kingdom regarding a special shinobi squad of the Sound Kingdom which members have abilities which seemed to be out of this world. Those shinobis are named the cursed children as they were 'given' those abilities by Orochimaru, and they each have a mark somewhere on their bodies which they knew as the cursed seal – a particularly troublesome seal planted on them by Orochimaru which gives them power, yet at the same time, will force them under Orochimaru's will more.

"That opponent of yours…" said Shiki slowly, looking at Hinata and Kiba. "Most probably…he's one of the cursed children. The traits of the cursed children are all the same. The colour of their chakra…is a dark purple. A few will even look inhumane because of the experiments performed on them."

"But…how did Orochimaru get his hands on the data of your ability?" asked Gaara, curious.

"I…don't know," said Shiki uneasily. "I told you that I don't remember where I came from. My…hometown is probably where he got his hands on a 'sample' of this ability."

Inside however, Shiki was furious. She now knew one of the reasons why Orochimaru attacked Whirlpool Kingdom back then. Her bloodline to control the weather came from her father who is formerly a prince of the now destroyed Gale Kingdom, and her ability to manipulate the five main elements came from her mother.

"Anyway, we can't leave this be," said Haku, breaking into Shiki's thoughts. "We have to eliminate this guy. The less shinobis under Orochimaru, the better." She turned towards Kiba. "Kiba, do you remember his scent? We have to catch up to him."

"Yeah, I remember," said Kiba, nodding. "I'll lead the way."

"No," said Shiki, interrupting her friends. _"I'll _deal with him. It's suicide for you to deal with someone who manipulates the weather and the five main elements. You guys bring Hinata back to the outpost and get her treated."

"I'm coming with you," interrupted Gaara stubbornly. "You need someone to trace that Oto-nin's tracks."

Shiki stared at Gaara before sighing. "Fine. Gaara and Kiba, you both come with me," she said. "The rest of you, head back to the shinobi outpost. Come on."

**

* * *

**Ten minutes later, whilst Shiki, Gaara and Kiba were leaping through the trees, with the others heading back to the shinobi outpost in order to treat Hinata's injuries, the wind changed directions just then, blowing it towards their direction.

Kiba stopped dead in his tracks just then, sniffing the air lightly, and all three sensed the presences of at least ten shinobis heading their way.

Gaara scowled. "Damn," he muttered. He then turned towards Shiki. "Shiki, we'll deal with those guys. You go ahead and deal with that guy."

Shiki nodded. "Don't die," she said before she took another direction to avoid running into their pursuers.

**

* * *

**Shiki headed towards the direction where Kiba had told her where he had smelt the guy. Apparently, he hadn't moved from the spot where Kiba and Hinata have fought him. The guy was still there, standing at the edge of the cliff which overlooks the top of the Dark Forest below, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Shiki landed on her feet lightly behind him and walked towards him slowly but silently. He didn't give any indication that he had sensed the redhead, but the way that his shoulders shifted slightly gave him away.

"You're one of the cursed children, aren't you?" said Shiki, getting straight to the point.

"Another Fire ninja?" mused the Oto-nin, turning around to look at Shiki. "I want some worthy opponents…not like those two whom I had faced earlier." He raised his hand, and lightning started to flash across the sky.

Shiki growled inwardly. "Die!" she snarled, shooting across the cliff that they're both on like a bullet, lightning starting to cackle around her body, much to the Oto-nin's disbelief, and he stared at Shiki in shock.

That moment is all that Shiki requires, and she launched a punch straight into his face which sent him flying, and the lightning fried his body. There were a few moments before the Oto-nin got to his feet, wiping some blood away from his mouth.

"I see…" he muttered. "I know who you are now. So you're still alive…even after the attack on that orphanage."

Shiki growled in her throat. "You're one of those who attacked the orphanage, aren't you?" She nearly snarled. "What did you do that for? Yahiko didn't do anything!"

The Oto-nin shrugged. "I didn't do it because I wanted to," he said. "It was an order. You understand that, don't you? You're a shinobi. If I disobey the orders given to me, I'll die instead."

Shiki scowled and narrowed her eyes at the Oto-nin. "You have a date with Morino Ibiki, our head of interrogation," she stated.

The Oto-nin smirked. "I don't think so," he said. "All Oto-nins would rather choose death than be captured by our enemies." He then dived off the cliff, much to Shiki's horror.

Shiki didn't waste a single second; she dived off the cliff after him, throwing a kunai with ninja wire around a nearby pine tree at the top of the cliff as she went for the lone Oto-nin. Shiki missed grabbing the hand of the Oto-nin just by the fingertips as she ran out of thread.

She watched in horror as the Oto-nin smiled up at her before spiralling down nearly three hundred feet below to the Dark Forest. Shiki gritted her teeth together in anger. Just why the hell are all those Oto-nins willing to throw their lives away for Orochimaru in the first place?!

"Damn…"

"Oi! Shiki!"

Shiki turned her head skywards, still hanging onto the ninja wire with one arm, only to see the faces of Gaara and Kiba peering over the edge of the cliff, both with worried looks on their faces.

"Gaara! Kiba!"

"Hang on for a minute!" called Kiba before he disappeared from Shiki's view, and less than a minute later, someone was pulling up the ninja wire that she's holding onto. A few minutes later, Shiki was safely perched atop the cliff with both her feet firmly planted on the ground.

"What happened to that guy?" asked Kiba as Shiki caught her breath back. "Did you get him?"

"Not exactly," said Shiki. "He's probably dead. He can't still be alive after he threw himself off the cliff and fell into the Dark Forest nearly three hundred below. And assuming that even if he hadn't died from that fall, the demons residing in the forest will have him for supper." She then turned to look at Kiba and Gaara. "Your side?"

"Done," said Gaara. "Only that those Oto idiots ambushed two squads of Fire ninjas on their way to meet us. We found them…all of them are on the verge of death. We've radioed for Horai's outpost to get them to the capital city for immediate emergency treatment."

Shiki sighed. "Come on, let's go," she said. "We still have to get the prince and princess to the capital city."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thirty minutes later found the group back at the capital city of Fire Kingdom. Umino Iruka was present at the gates to escort the prince and princess to the palace, along with Udon, and Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi were told to go with him.

Haku and Hinata were told to rush to the hospital immediately as all available medic-nins were required to tend to the two squads of ninjas who were ambushed by the group that Kiba and Gaara have taken care of. Gaara and Shiki were also told to head to the hospital to help with crowd control, as some of the family members of those ninjas were beyond hysterical, and a few shinobis have already gotten injured trying to restrain them from barging into the ICU unit.

Without a word, the moment that the group arrived back at Konoha, their horses were handed to some random Fire ninja, and they all separated, going in different ways. There was no choice about it; it was simply duty.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Hospital; Fire Kingdom:_

"Here."

Gaara tossed Shiki a cold can of some beverage that he had gotten from the vending machine, and Shiki caught it with no problem, thanks to her shinobi training, seated on one of the chairs outside the operating room where Shizune, Ino, Sakura and Hinata, along with half of the kingdom's medic-nins were currently inside, trying to save the shinobis that were ambushed by the Oto-nins minutes earlier.

"Thanks," muttered Shiki, opening the can with a light pop.

It had taken Shiki and Gaara, along with nearly the help of all their friends who aren't medic-nins, a little over an hour to reassure the family members of the shinobis currently in intensive care that a messenger will be sent to their homes _immediately _once the hospital has any news on the status of the shinobis.

Now, Shiki and Gaara were outside the operating room where said shinobis were currently fighting for their lives. Their shinobis senses were acute enough to pick up on the strong scent of blood, and they could barely pick up the distressed screams and Shizune's commands, along with a few unknown voices shouting.

"Humans…" said Shiki, breaking the silence between them. "I wonder why things like this happen." Seeing Gaara's look on her from where he stood, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, Shiki snorted. "Come on, Gaara. You know as well as I do that half of the shinobis inside won't be going home today."

"I don't know," said Gaara with a sigh. "I wonder why humans like to fight so much. In the end, both parties suffer…especially the children."

The light above the operating room turned off just then, and the doors of the operating room swung opened. Sakura and Ino both stepped out first, both looking exhausted, and stripping the disposal gloves off their hands.

"…she was amazing!" Sakura was telling Ino. "I've never seen anything like it before! I thought that Takoya is done for, but she merely stepped up to him, and I don't know _what_ she did, but she managed to stabilise his condition and even brought him back from death's door!"

"Yeah!" said Ino, nodding. "I wonder where the queen found her? She even beat Shizune-san's medic skills hands down!"

"Ino! Sakura!"

Ino and Sakura looked up in surprise as Gaara and Shiki walked up to them. "How are they?"

Ino and Sakura exchanged looks before they turned back towards Shiki and Gaara both. "Eighteen stabilised." Sakura reported. "The remaining four…well…it's better for them if we kill them, seriously. They're too much gone in order to be saved."

Gaara blinked. "Eighteen?" he echoed. "Forgive me if I sound too cruel when saying this, but I was expecting you guys to only manage to save half of those shinobis brought in, _if_ you're lucky. From what we saw of the injuries when they were rushed here, they're lucky if we even make it in time to get them to the hospital."

"Yeah, that's what we thought too," said Sakura, exchanging glances with Ino before turning back towards Shiki and Gaara. "But Shizune-san brought in a new medic-nin with her in order to help us. I don't know where the queen found a medic-nin like that, but she's amazing! She did in _seconds _what any of us might be able to do in hours. She saved those guys inside. They owe her their lives. She's even better in medic skill than Shizune-san. Even Shizune-san admits it."

"I won't be surprised if the families of those inside will be down on their hands and knees thanking her," added Ino, glancing back towards the operating room as various nurses and medic-nins wheeled out gurneys on which laid the shinobis who were brought in.

Shiki frowned. "She's that good?"

"Yeah."

"Who is she?"

"Ko—"

"Sakura-san," said a voice just then, and all four teenagers blinked and turned to see a woman wearing a green surgical coat and mask walk out of the operating room, the disposal gloves on her hands bloodied. "Can you and Ino-san keep a close watch on Imeshi Takoya-san for twenty four hours? He's still not out of danger yet."

Shiki narrowed her eyes as she looked at the medic-nin behind Sakura and Ino. She can't help feeling that she found this woman familiar, and that she seemed to have seen her somewhere before. Even her voice sounds familiar.

"Right," said Sakura, taking the clipboard from the medic-nin with a nod. She then turned towards Shiki and Gaara. "Right, sorry, you guys, but we have to go. Let's catch up over tea or something tomorrow, okay, Shiki? It's our day off."

"Right," said Shiki absent mindedly, still staring at the medic-nin that had just exited the operating room. "Later."

"I have to go too," said Gaara, looking at his wristwatch and back at Shiki. "I have to find my siblings."

"Okay."

Shiki waited until the footsteps of her friends faded and died away before she turned back towards the medic-nin. "Have we met before?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as the medic-nin stripped the disposal gloves from her hands and threw them into the nearby trashcan.

"Probably," said the medic-nin before removing her coat and mask with one swift motion, revealing the dark blue hair that cascaded down to her back, and Shiki's eyes widened in shock as she saw that beautiful face.

"You are…" muttered Shiki, her eyes wide in shock. "It can't be…!"

"It's been a long time, Hime-sama," said Konan with a smile.


	13. The Akatsuki's Tale

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: The Akatsuki's Tale**

_Fire Kingdom Palace; Audience Chamber:_

Unfortunately for Shiki, before she could actually _talk _to Konan, a messenger sent by the queen and king was sent to assemble the shinobi escort team responsible for escorting the prince and princess from Wind Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom.

Right now, Shiki, Gaara and Haku were standing before the king and queen in the audience chamber, with the three Wind shinobis sent to the Fire Kingdom as part of the alliance standing before the king and queen as well.

"Right. Temari told me in her report that you were at the festival at Horai village," said the queen, studying the whole lot of them with her honey-brown eyes. "Did you manage to have fun?"

The six shinobis shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, all exchanging looks with each other. Will they be punished if they answer truthfully? Finally, Shiki decided to answer when it seems like none of the others will.

"…uh…yeah?"

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya blinked as they studied the looks on the faces of some of the best shinobis in Fire Kingdom, and realised just what they are so hesitant about. Jiraiya laughed his booming laugh, causing all shinobis present to look at their king as if he had suddenly grown two new heads.

"Hohohohoho! Don't worry, the Scripture Lantern festival is the one festival where all Fire Kingdom shinobis are allowed to attend, even if they are on missions," said Jiraiya. "You need some time off. And I do mean _all _of you." He glanced at Gaara. "Did Shiki participate in the festival this year?" He asked, directing this question to said kunoichi's best friend, knowing full well that if he asked the mentioned kunoichi, he won't get a single word out of her. He'll be better off asking the wall.

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Gaara, glancing at his best friend who was pointedly looking away.

Tsunade frowned and glanced at Jiraiya to see that he had a thoughtful expression on his face. They both weren't there, of course, but Jiraiya had asked Yahiko for a description on Shiki when she had first arrived to Fire Kingdom to attend the ninja Academy. This was the standard procedure for every student attending the ninja Academy as the kingdom itself needs to know the background of their future ninjas. It's just that in Shiki's case, both the king and queen requested for a much more detailed report from Yahiko.

And in Yahiko's first letter to the king and queen after Shiki had attended the Academy in Konoha years ago, he had said that it had taken Shiki _months _after she had just came to the orphanage to be coaxed out successfully by Gaara and Haku back then and stopped acting like a scared rabbit after the demise of the Whirlpool Kingdom.

"Alright," said Jiraiya, looking from one shinobi to another. "It's been a long journey, and I'm sure that you're all tired. I'll give you a week to rest up. Shiki. Gaara. Haku." The three mentioned looked at the king. "Try to find some time tomorrow to introduce Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi to your friends, and maybe show them around. It won't do to have our own ninjas getting lost in their nation kingdom, will it?"

The three exchanged amused looks. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"With that, you're dismissed."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shiki looked from the map in her hands before looking at the door of an apartment. Just before being dismissed by the king and queen both, Jiraiya had her remain behind for a few moments before handing her a map which pointed directions to the apartment where the remaining members of the Akatsuki were currently staying in.

Shiki had first shown Itachi, Sasuke and Kakashi to the apartment where they would be staying in before reporting into the shinobi headquarters to inform them of her return before heading straight to the apartment where the Akatsuki were staying.

It was late evening, and the sky was a beautiful orange-red, with the sun slowly sinking down into the horizon. The apartment where Shiki was standing before was a pretty nice place, with stone steps leading from the front gate to the wooden door. There was even a small garden where mostly flowers were grown – Konan's work, Shiki presumed – and a white fence enclosure surrounded the house, with a red mailbox standing by the fence.

Sighing, Shiki walked up the steps leading to the front door and knocked on the door. Her sharp hearing caught the sound of shuffled footsteps before the door was opened and a certain blonde Akatsuki member was standing there in regular shinobi attire, with a bit of toast hanging out from his mouth.

Shiki smiled at Deidara. "Can I come in?" she asked.

Deidara's eyes bugged out as he saw the redhead, and swallowed the toast hanging from his mouth before saluting Shiki with one hand crossed over his chest before Shiki hissed and pushed him inside the apartment, looking left and right outside to make sure that no one was around before closing the door and glaring at Deidara.

"Do you want _everyone_ in Fire Kingdom to know about me?!" she hissed.

Deidara 'eeped'. "Sorry!" he squeaked. "But…it's really been a long time, Hime-sama."

By this time, the rest of the Akatsuki which included Konan had entered the sitting room where both Deidara and Shiki were. The redheaded princess sighed. "Can you lot cut it with the 'hime-sama' crap?" she asked irritably.

Sasori smiled, shrugging his shoulders, being seated on one of the armchairs in the sitting room, his legs crossed. "Well, you _are _the princess," he stated.

Shiki nearly groaned. "You don't have to remind me," she muttered. "But what are the rest of Fire Kingdom going to say if they keep hearing you call me 'hime-sama'? It won't take them long before they found out about my identity."

"We already thought about that," said Kisame, glancing at Konan. "We'll just call you 'hime' if you mind so much, Princess. That way, everyone will think that it's just a pet name of sorts that we call you with. And if anyone asks why, we'll just say that you resemble the late princess of Whirlpool a lot."

The entire Akatsuki was staring at Kisame until the shark-like shinobi felt uncomfortable. "What?!"

"It's shocking…fish-face actually had a brain," said Deidara with mock shock.

Tobi snorted from his place on the arm of the armchair that Konan was sitting in, nearly tearing the scroll that he's reading in half, and Sasori choked on the tea that he's drinking, nearly spitting it all over himself.

Kisame balled a fist. "Deidara…WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME??!!"

"Alright, enough!" interrupted Konan, whacking both Deidara and Kisame on the head with a rolled-up parchment of some kind. "The moment that the princess walks in, you both start arguing as usual!"

Shiki shook her head, sitting on the arm of the armchair that Deidara was sitting in. "You guys never change…despite having not seen you for over ten years." She sighed before breaking into a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Princess," said Konan with a smile. "It's good to see that you're doing well. The queen filled us in on everything that has happened so far. Don't worry, we won't do anything that might cause the truth of your identity to leak out to the populace."

Shiki sighed, kneading her temples together. "I need some answers," she stated. "Straight from your mouths. I know that I can trust you. My parents told me so when I was little that I can trust the Akatsuki with my life. Nagato risked his own life to protect me…and so did you."

The Akatsuki exchanged looks. "About Orochimaru?" asked Sasori, and Shiki nodded.

"Something like that," she said. "I did some studying in the royal library of Whirlpool after my fifth birthday when he first showed up. But I know that there is more than what was stated in the library, isn't it? There's more to it. Otherwise, my parents wouldn't be so worried back then."

The Akatsuki exchanged looks and Konan nodded, taking the lead as she's the vice-captain of the Akatsuki. "You're as sharp as always, Your Highness," said the blue-haired kunoichi. "His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen summoned the entire Akatsuki straight after your fifth birthday and all the delegates left the Whirlpool Kingdom that day…nearly eleven years ago. They told us the whole story…and told us that there will come a day when you have to know the truth…the horrible truth that Whirlpool Kingdom kept hidden till this day."

"First, Your Highness, you have to understand how Whirlpool Kingdom was first founded. And that means that it's time for a history lesson," said Kisame. "Whirlpool Kingdom was the first royal kingdom in existence, and that's only one of the reasons why Whirlpool was said to be the most powerful kingdom ever. Whirlpool was founded in 119 AD…a time during the shinobi clan wars. There was no alliance of any sort…no treaty of any sort back then. The clans answer to no one but themselves. But then…a war came close to breaking out…a war between the humans and the demons."

"The First War," said Shiki, remembering this part of history during her lessons at the ninja Academy and from what she read in history books.

Konan nodded. "Fortunately for the humans back then, the vampires left them alone…otherwise no humans will be alive today. In fact, the vampires usually stayed out of human lands and our way as long as we do not bother them. As such, the war back then was only between the demons and the humans. And things came to such a state during the war and the head of the Uzumaki clan realised that they can't survive for long by themselves."

"As such, he decided to found his own kingdom…his own home. All clans back then were strictly travellers…never really staying in one place for long. The place where the Uzumaki clan decided to build their home was near the rivers and the sea. The Uzumaki were nature people. They lived as one with nature…and as much as they took from nature, they gave back twice the amount to nature. That's how they lived. And the home that they choose…became the Whirlpool Kingdom…and the Uzumaki clan head became the first king of the Whirlpool."

"Because the Uzumaki clan head was extremely popular with the other clans back then, they answered his calls to the Whirlpool Kingdom and listened to what he has to say. As reluctant as they may be, they see the wisdom in his words and decided to 'join' the Whirlpool Kingdom and fight the demons together for the sake of survival."

"Five years passed before the war ended…with heavy casualties on both sides. But the demons retreated, and the humans rejoiced. After that, several of the clans liked the land on which Whirlpool Kingdom was on so much that they decided to stay since even those clans were tired of travelling. And so, the Uzumaki clan head built his own kingdom with his own hands…with the help of those clans that had decided to help him…and it became the kingdom which we knew."

"That's all nice and all," said Shiki. "But what has it got to do with Orochimaru?"

"I'm getting to that," said Konan. She sighed. "Years passed. And slowly, other clans left the Whirlpool to found their own kingdoms…whilst other clans that are stranger to the Whirlpool also did the same. And thus began the elemental kingdoms. Hi. Kaze. Iwa. Mizu. Those were just some of the kingdoms…and which became the elemental kingdoms which we knew today. But…about fifty years ago…give or take a few years, something happened in the Whirlpool Kingdom."

"The parents of the late queen who were still the prince and princess back then witnessed the tragedy that happened…but they did nothing to stop it. This entire…affair with Orochimaru…came about because of the foolishness and stupidity of the past generations. A grudge which had lasted for decades…ever since Orochimaru himself is a young boy."

"What…do you mean?"

"Fifty years ago, a war broke out between the various elemental kingdoms. I'm sure that you knew this already, Your Highness," said Kisame, and Shiki nodded. "The Second Great War. The kingdoms which make up six of the major powers in the elemental kingdoms today went to war. Fire against Wind. Wind against Earth. Earth against Water. And Whirlpool against all of them. Whirlpool…despite being the most powerful kingdom out there is still no match against four of the major powers. True, Whirlpool has many talented shinobi clans…many of which wield several powerful bloodlines…but they're still human. And all humans die. The king back then…the father of your grandparents…your great-grandfather sent a shinobi messenger into the mountains of Mount Terror where a particularly feared shinobi clan resides. This clan had lived in isolation all their lives without any attachment to any kingdom because no kingdom wants them in their home."

"Why not?"

"They were too powerful, Your Highness," said Sasori after a long while. "Too powerful. They were a formidable shinobi clan…with only the Uzumaki clan surpassing them in power. They were respected, yes. But they were also feared…because of their snake allies."

"Snake allies?!"

"Both snake allies and snake-like abilities," said Tobi. "They also have the ability to speak to and communicate with the snakes. That clan was the Karigashi clan. They were an extremely formidable shinobi clan. But because the kingdoms back then and even now…everyone believed snakes to be an omen of bad luck and evil power. That's why the Karigashi clan were never accepted into any kingdom…leaving them homeless, and forcing them to take up residence in the mountains. The Second Great War forced the king of the Whirlpool to send a messenger to the Karigashi clan to ask for their assistance…along with a message. 'If you assist Whirlpool in this war, we of the Whirlpool will be willing to offer the Karigashi clan amnesty.'"

"Desperate for a home and a sense of belonging of some sort…the Karigashi clan…a clan of only fifty members turned up at the Whirlpool and agreed to help them with the war. With the Karigashi clan's assistance, the war quickly turned into Whirlpool's favour, and within three years, the war ended with Whirlpool the victor. But then…"

_No…_

Shiki knew what the Akatsuki were about to say next. She now knew what her own home…her own kingdom had done in the past. She didn't want to believe it, didn't want to believe that her home would do such a thing, but the truth still stands. Whirlpool Kingdom may be her home…but it's still the home of which a vast populace was shinobi, and shinobis were good at betrayal.

Kisame took up the mantle next.

"After the end of the Second Great War, the king and queen…and the Whirlpool Kingdom as a whole…turned on them." Kisame chuckled, but his laugh was bitter and full of pain. How long had he kept it inside himself? After believing that the Whirlpool Kingdom was right and just, and he found out the dark secrets lying behind the scene. "They were _betrayed. _After the war, the Karigashi clan was dwindled down to a handful. Most of them died on the frontlines. Only ten of them survived. And out of these ten, only four shinobis were left. They were the only protection that the entire clan had. The rest were either women, the elderly…or children. 'We don't need you anymore.' Whirlpool _threw _the clan out—" The wood of the armchair splintered below Kisame's fist. "—like they're nothing more than trash…than garbage. After that, majority of the Karigashi clan was killed off. They were killed by shinobis from other lands for revenge because of the war. Only one survived. A genius child of that clan. He is said to be the hope of the Karigashi clan." Kisame turned to look at Shiki with a sad look. "And that child's name…was Karigashi _Orochimaru."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For the next two days, the Uchiha brothers took some time to know their way around the capital city of Fire Kingdom, and Shiki, Haku and Gaara introduced them to their friends who actually made an effort to get to know the two Uchiha brothers.

Every one of them had their odd quirks, but Itachi found them likeable.

Haruno Sakura was one of the kingdom's best medics, second only to Shizune, the head of the hospital and the head of the shinobi headquarters in Fire Kingdom. Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino were the only two medics with skill equal with Sakura's.

Inuzuka Kiba was loud and brash, the typical hot-headed shinobi type who usually rushed headlong into battle, but also the type to have the highest endurance and stamina. One would have assumed that he'll be better suited as a combat type shinobi instead of a tracker.

His teammate, Aburame Shino was quite possibly the smartest person on the planet. Hardly anyone knew anything about him as he's so quiet, and the only two who knew anything about him and actually manages to hold a proper conversation with him were Gaara and Shiki both. Shino was like Konoha's walking dictionary or something! He's just too damn smart!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two days after Shiki returned to Fire Kingdom, she was dragged out of her warm bed in her apartment by a rather determined Sakura who was determined to manage a girls' get together that day at the local teahouse that all the kunoichis in Fire Kingdom frequented.

And so, Shiki found herself on a Thursday morning being seated at a table with all her female friends, having her ear talked off by Sakura and Ino – the kingdom's two PA systems on legs.

"…Squad Delta reported in two days ago." Haku was saying as the conversation switched to the current situation regarding Oto and Fire Kingdom. "They were sent up to the north on a reconnaissance mission, and were ambushed by Oto."

"It's bad?"

"Yeah. Six of those ten that were sent were certified to be black level," said Haku rather mournfully.

All kunoichis present winced. Black level. People that were far too injured to save and were instead given painkillers or morphine to ease their pain as they journeyed from one life to the next. Some even went as far as to ask the medics to euthanise them instead of letting them suffer through the pain.

"Let's stop it with all those depressing stuff," said Ino. "So, Shiki!"

Shiki blinked as five expectant faces – Ino, Sakura, Temari, Tenten and Hinata – turned towards her.

"What is it with you and Itachi, huh? You seemed awfully close."

Shiki turned and glared at Haku who flinched under her glare and mouthed, "I didn't tell them anything!"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Don't act dumb!" said Temari with a grin. "You know what we mean!"

Shiki was sweating bullets. If she don't tell them anything, they will never shut up until she do. And if she does tell them something, the entire capital city of Konoha will know by tomorrow. Both actions are no-no.

'_You can just tell them the truth,' _said a small voice at the back of her mind.

'_To __**them?**__ Oh great. I must be going insane. I'm talking to myself.'_

'_They're going to know sooner or later.'_

'_Er__…'_

Her friends were still _staring _at her.

"Spill!" commanded Sakura.

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me, Namikaze!" said Tenten with a grin. "What's up with you and Itachi? Are you together now?"

"Um…" Shiki leaned backwards as five faces came too close for her comfort. "…yeah? We're together."

The next moment, Shiki regretted telling them as five very loud and ear-piercing shrieks nearly destroyed her eardrums and nearly shattered her glass of lemonade.

"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"How did it go?"

"What's your first date like?"

"How did he ask you out?"

"Did he confess to you? Or is it the other way around?"

"Did he _kiss _you?"

"One at a time!" Shiki snapped. She cleared her throat, and her friends looked back at her expectantly. "He asked me out for a moonlit stroll after the prince's engagement party back at Wind Kingdom—"

"A _moonlit stroll?! _That's so romantic!"

"—and then he took me to this field which was…_special _to him—"

"Special? In what way?"

"—and then…he confessed."

"_How?!"_

"He…told me how he felt about me ever since we first met at Wind Kingdom four years ago, and we've been exchanging letters ever since, and then…"

"And then?!"

"He…he kissed me."

"EEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Shiki nearly groaned as she rubbed her ears, making a mental note to sue Sakura and Ino if she ever had problems with her hearing in the future.

"That's so sweet!" squealed Sakura. "That's almost like how Lee asked me out!"

"Oh yes. Regarding that…" Shiki turned towards Sakura. "Just _how _did he ask you out in the first place? I was away on a diplomatic mission that day, and I returned to find out that you're both dating! I meant to ask you about that, but we somehow always get interrupted."

"Yeah, Sakura. I've been meaning to ask you as well," said Hinata, looking at Sakura with interest.

"Oh, about that…" said Sakura, blushing a little. "It's kind of stupid. Shiki, you remember that mission that you had from Lee about four years back? The one asking your team for help to get me to go out with him?"

Shiki chuckled, resting her chin on her palm. "Who wouldn't remember?" she said. "Gaara, Haku and myself were in fits of laughter the whole day."

Sakura scowled as the other girls laughed as well. "Well, I'm glad that you've found it amusing at my expense," she huffed. "Well…apparently Neji and the other boys were so tired of Lee's whining at me repeatedly turning down his requests for a date that they decided to set us up about three years back. They arranged for a romantic candlelit dinner at the lake near here which also happened to be a night full of stars that night. And then Neji sent me a note in his own handwriting, asking to meet me at the lake that night, and he even sent me a beautiful formal nightdress. I had a crush on him back then, as I'm sure that you all remembered."

"I don't think that not a girl in Fire Kingdom has a crush on him," said Ino with a grin. "Save for Shiki and Haku, I think. And Neji, in turn, has a crush on Shiki before it faded about two years back when he started going out with Tenten."

"That's true," said Sakura. "Alright, back to the topic. I was all excited then as I assumed that he's asking me out on a date, and tried to look my best. I didn't know then that the boys sent a note to Lee as well in my _own handwriting, _asking _him_ out for a date."

Haku laughed. "I remember!" she said. "I was wondering why all the boys, save for Lee, disappeared for a week after that."

"Yeah well," said Sakura with a smile. "I was quite angry when I realised that it was Lee instead of Neji there, but then I decided, "Oh well, since I'm here anyway, and dressed for the occasion, why not have a meal with him? It couldn't hurt." And so, I decided to go on this 'date' with him. Lee, who knows how he did it, but he somehow managed to make his hair up, and trimmed his eyebrows so that he at least looks _normal, _and I'll bet my pay for the next ten missions that Neji or some of the boys took him out clothes shopping as he had on a tux that night! He looked so handsome that I could hardly recognise him! We talked that night. I was surprised to find that he was incredibly caring and kind when he's not being his usual boisterous self, and treated me like I'm some princess."

"All of us like to be treated like a princess." Ino chirped in.

"Anyway, I was really touched, and he even bought a bouquet of ten red roses and gave it to me," said Sakura with a smile.

"Which, if I recall correctly, you still have that in your room back at our apartment," said Ino with a smirk.

"He treated me like a princess from start to finish, and even delivered me back to my apartment after our date," said Sakura. "He was so much of a gentleman that he said that he really enjoyed that night, and that he hoped that we can go out again. I was really happy that night too, believe it or not, and I said that I wouldn't mind going out with him again. And then…I guess that's when we started going out."

"But if I recall correctly, that didn't stop you from hunting Neji and the rest of the boys down the day after your date," said Tenten with a grin. "I was in the missions' office when Kiba, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji turned up in the early morning, all armed with their shinobi gear and weaponry, and looking positively frightened. You can't tell with Shino, but I can sense that he's afraid as well. And all asked for a mission that will take them away from the capital city for a week."

"Yeah, I was wondering what they did to Sakura as well," said Shiki, laughing. "But none of them told me."

"What about you, Tenten?" asked Haku. "How did Neji ask you out?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "It was really stupid," she said. "That guy…is quite possibly the most unromantic person that I've ever known. I wonder how I ever fell in love with him! Do you girls know how he asked me out?"

"How?"

"He asked me in the middle of training. In the _middle of training!" _said Tenten incredulously that the girls snorted with laughter. "I mean, come on! There is a time and place for everything, and he actually asked me out to the movies when I was busy doing target practice. Well, I agreed in the end, and some miracle occurred in which we started dating." She turned towards Hinata who was giggling. "I really wonder how he's related to you, seriously."

"Ino, what about you?" asked Haku, turning towards the blonde. "How did you and Chouji get together?"

Ino snorted and Sakura screamed with laughter. The remaining four girls blinked in confusion. Were they missing something here?

"That…was the most…hilarious thing that I ever saw in my entire life!" Sakura managed to choke out through her laughter.

Ino smirked. "Oh, I thought that it's pretty sweet of him," she said.

"You would," snorted Sakura. "Everyone knew that your head don't work the way everyone else does, Ino."

"Hey!"

"How did Chouji ask Ino out?" asked Temari with interest.

Sakura began to giggle, recalling that event. "It was our day-off that day," she began. "Ino was helping her mother with the flower shop, and I was helping her as well to do up the flowers in bouquets. And then, during early afternoon when hardly anyone enters the shop, Chouji entered the shop when Ino was at the counter. Ino greeted him with a smile and asked him if there is anything that she can do for him."

"And then Chouji smiled and said yes," said Ino, grinning. "He said that he's looking to buy some flowers. And then I said, "Oh? What kind?""

"And then Chouji said that he's looking for an 'Ino' to say 'I love you'," said Sakura, grinning, before she broke out in fits of laughter again.

Everyone burst into laughter before they turned towards Hinata. "What about you? How did you and Shino get together?"

Shiki snorted, and everyone turned towards her. "You girls missed it as it happened on the mission that we're on about two years ago," she said. "Hinata slipped and fell from a cliff as it was raining heavily that night, and visibility was nearly zero. Shino saved her…at the cost of breaking nearly half the bones in his body. Hinata then stayed by his bedside throughout his hospital stay, and then, BAM! Cupid strikes!"

Everyone laughed. "That's so sweet! You know how Shikamaru asked me out? 'Woman, you're troublesome, but you're hot. Wanna go out with me?'" Temari made her voice low and drawling, trying to imitate Shikamaru.

Everyone laughed. "And you agreed to that?"

"No," said Temari with a smirk. "I said no and walked away, but that lazy ass followed me around and pestered me. When he wouldn't take no for an answer, I kicked him where the sun don't shine."

The girls winced in sympathy. "Tem, you are too cruel," said Shiki, shaking her head.

"I do what I can," said Temari, laughing. "Anyway, Shikamaru, to his credit, _still _wouldn't give up, and I finally gave in and went out with him. Turns out that he can be pretty sweet and attentive when he wants to be, and we've been going out ever since."

**

* * *

**Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha, a rather similar conversation was being carried out with the boys, and Itachi sighed.

'_This is going to take a long while.'_


	14. Nagato

Sorry for the late update, and a big thank you to all who had reviewed…except for one person who goes by the name of 'dhh'. I really have to ask you something; do you have a bone to pick with me or something? You seemed to have something negative to say about EVERY SINGLE ONE of my stories…even on my old account before I started this account. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind flamers every once in awhile, but please at least say something that MAKES SENSE! Dhh as he was known by do not even have a SINGLE story up on his account, and how do I know if he's qualified enough to say _that_ about my own story? And to top it off, he actually signed off with 'sincerely' like he said something very polite after he said my story is boring. If it's so boring, then don't read it! I am seriously considering blocking this person from reviewing or whatnot from any of my stories since this isn't the first time that he's been doing this to me.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Nagato**

It's a beautiful day in Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom. The sun is shining, the birds are singing…and loud arguing voices could be heard coming from one of the shinobi report rooms on the third level of the shinobi headquarters.

Most shinobis took advantage of the usage of the shinobi report rooms aka office to fill in reports or any paperwork or even took advantage of the usage of one of the stimulation rooms on the fourth level of the shinobi headquarters to practice their strategy making by the usage of some of the computers.

And a certain blue-haired medic-nin by the name of Konan was wondering if it's legal to kill the two shinobis in front of her right now, both whom are arguing like children.

The two before her were just sent on a border patrol mission three days ago, and by some sheer miracle, both have managed to return _without_ killing each other. Now, anyone who knew them would have thought that it's the end of the matter, but nooo! The king just _had _to request for the usual reports from them, and as luck would have it, the report room that they are in is the only available one since everyone was trying to finish as many of their reports as possible so that they can relax for the Flower Festival held in a week's time, and not to mention that the next two days are mostly considered rest days for most of the shinobis.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Konan nearly groaned as she laid her chin on her palm, eyeing Deidara and Kisame going at each other like children. Usually, Konan can stop them, but even she's getting tired of seeing and hearing them arguing like small kids all the time.

Konan _still _has no idea how a simple argument over which of them will do the report can lead to an argument about their jutsus, their weapons, to Kisame's Samehada sword, then to Deidara's C3 explosives, then to their _sleeping habits _for kami-sama's sake!

(A/N: In this story, Deidara does not have the 'mouths' on his hands, but merely mould the clay that he had by 'traditional' means)

'_Why me? Why, out of all the hundreds of shinobis in Fire Kingdom must I be the one to put up with them when they're doing mere REPORTS for kami-sama's sake?! Just what did I do to the king that he gave me these two morons in order to teach them how to write reports?!'_

Konan sighed as she listened to them arguing, her own report long done and sitting in a corner, waiting for the king or queen's approval and their seal.

'_This is going to take a long while.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, in another part of Konoha, one can find Namikaze Shiki entering the local bookstore, in search for some new books. Unlike contrary belief, Shiki is quite fond of reading, she only doesn't show it much because life as a shinobi never leaves them much time for themselves.

The bookstore was divided in several sections –shinobi section, non-shinobi section, literature, fiction, non-fiction, 'adult' novels, etc. Like with most shinobis, Shiki made a beeline straight to the shinobi section of the bookstore, and was surprised to find none other than one Uchiha Itachi literally drooling at the number of books lined before him.

"Itachi."

Itachi nearly jumped and turned in surprise only to see Shiki looking at him with amusement, a few books tucked under one arm as she browsed through the books in the shinobi section. "What are you doing here? Never thought that I'll see the day which you enter a bookstore willingly."

Itachi looked embarrassed. "I thought that I should read up on Fire Kingdom's history and customs since I'm technically a Fire shinobi now," said the older Uchiha brother.

"I see. Then I can pick out a few for you," said Shiki before giving the stack of books that she was holding to Itachi and beginning to pick out a few books for him. Itachi caught a few of the titles that she had picked out, like 'A History', 'A Tale of the Fire Phoenix' and 'The Four Mythical Beasts'.

Blinking, Itachi then looked at the stack of books which he was carrying only to notice a number of medic books, along with one book on genjutsu as well as ninjutsu, and the top book was a red leather covered book with the cursive writing of the words 'Loveless' written on the written in gold.

Itachi blinked and blinked.

He remembered the story 'Loveless' as his brother was a fan of that story, though he was the only one who knew it. It was a pretty popular story, even having a few plays about it acted out by several travelling troupes in the elemental kingdoms. Who knew that Shiki is a fan of that story too?

"You read 'Loveless' too?" asked Itachi, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I thought that my brother is the only one whom I knew is a fan of that story."

Shiki smiled slightly. "Yeah. I find the story pretty interesting." She handed the books that she's picked out to Itachi, and took back her own stack. "My caretaker used to read the story to me and Gaara and the others when we were children." Itachi's face fell a little at this as he knew that Shiki's caretaker was murdered in a shinobi attack the day that she left Wind Kingdom four years ago. "I think that's all the books that you need. Sakura is throwing a party tonight at the local bar-cum-disco. Everyone's going. You and your brother are invited too…and so are the older shinobis. Why don't you come?"

"I guess so," said Itachi as he followed Shiki to the cashier to pay for their books. "Do we need to wear anything formal?"

Shiki smiled slightly as the person in front of them headed up to the cashier to pay for his purchase. "Knowing Sakura, yes," she said. "It's not often that we get to wear formal. No shinobi wear though. It's a rare chance for us to let our hair down. The party's at seven tonight at Starlight's Hall, the local bar and disco. We frequent there every Friday night. Sakura's booked one of the dance halls there tonight. Just mention our name, and they'll show you in."

Itachi nodded before Shiki handed her purchase to the cashier, and he blinked as he noticed the other books that Shiki was purchasing as the cashier glanced at the shinobi badge on Shiki's collar and nodded before marking up her purchases. It is a law in all kingdoms that you must be a certified shinobi in order to buy shinobi books.

Itachi then raised an eyebrow as he noticed the three medic books other than the one ninjutsu and one genjutsu books that she's bought. "Medic books?"

Shiki sighed. "Not mine. Haku's," she said. "Haku asked me to pick them out for her since she doesn't have the time today."

"I…see…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night, the young shinobis, along with several of the senior shinobis like Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, Hatake Kakashi and a few others could be found at Starlight's Hall. All of them were dressed in pretty formal clothing, with the girls wearing kimonos that brought out their feminine features very nicely, and even though none of the boys would admit it, they thought that the girls looked very pretty.

The young shinobis were all gathered at a table, with the kunoichis dressed in kimonos of different colours, all of them talking about anything under the sun until the music changed to that of a slow romantic piece of rhythmic classical music.

Yuuhi Kurenai who was speaking with Shizune in a corner, both kunoichis being seated at the bar counter, tried to hide a smile as she knew that most of the young men wouldn't miss the chance to ask the apple of their eye for a dance.

And she was right.

Soon, in a few moments, various young couples were soon waltzing slowly to the tune of the music. Even those who weren't seeing someone. Sasuke had somehow asked a blushing Haku to dance, but the couple whom most people have their eyes on were Itachi and Shiki.

Shiki was blushing slightly, taking note of her closeness with Itachi, her right hand on his shoulder, Itachi's right hand clutching her left, his other hand on the small of her back, both of them moving in time with the music.

"I somehow feel like Neji set it up…" muttered Shiki, and Neji grinned at her as he waltzed away with a giggling Tenten.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"This bar is run by one of our friends," explained Shiki. "That's why we frequented it every Friday."

The music finally ended, and Itachi was almost reluctant to pull away, and was surprised when Shiki pulled him by the hand to the table where all her friends were sitting at, and two waiters were serving out bottles of sake, passing out wine glasses around them.

Haku's eye twitched a little as she was handed a glass half-filled with sake. No one but Shiki knew this, but Haku can't hold her liquor well, which is proven at one time during Ino's sixteenth birthday party nearly four months ago when Haku somehow gotten herself drunk after just one glass.

"Drink up, Haku," said Hinata with a smile, sipping from her glass.

"Er…right…" said Haku hesitantly, not wanting to upset Hinata, and looked desperately towards Shiki's initial direction only to see to her dismay that Shiki was currently distracted by something that Temari and Shikamaru were telling her. Haku lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, and then everything went black.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_Haku-san! BP and heart rates dropping!"_

"_He's losing blood fast!"_

"_Get me the blood transfusion packets!" ordered Haku, both hands atop the chest of the man that she was currently trying to save. But there was no flurry of activity or any sign of indication that they've heard her. "Didn't you hear me? Get the blood transfusion packets—"_

"_Haku."_

_Haku's eyes widened. "Sasuke—"_

**

* * *

**Haku sat up, rubbing her eyes blearily, not noticing that she's wearing a rather alluring white yukata which someone must have changed her into sometime during the night. And if she'd been looking around her surroundings, she would have noticed that she's in one of the staff rooms on the fourth level of the shinobi headquarters.

"Is anyone there?" she muttered, not fully awake yet and even recovered from her drunken stupor before going to the door and opening it.

**

* * *

**"All right. Battle scenario G-54 completed," said Sasuke to himself, being seated before a computer in one of the battle stimulation rooms on the fourth level of the shinobi headquarters.

He's taken the chance on one of the shinobis' off days to take advantage of the usage of the stimulation rooms during the early morning. There were only a few computers in the stimulation rooms which are programmed by voice activation, which is part of the reason why only shinobis at vice-captain rank and above are allowed usage of those computers.

"Scenario H-55 next."

"_Roger. Proceeding to scenario H-55 next," _said a robotic voice from the computer.

There was a click just then, and Sasuke turned around in his seat only to blanch as he caught sight of an obviously still not fully awake Haku standing there still in her sleep attire. Temari and Shiki have allowed her to sleep in one of the staff rooms in the shinobi headquarters since none of them have Haku's apartment key, and their homes are not large enough for one extra person to crash in for the night.

"H-H-H-Haku?!"

"…Sasuke?"

And Sasuke thought that his face would explode from the blushing that he was doing as the usually composed medic-nin lunged herself at him. "Ano…H-Haku," said Sasuke weakly, trying to pry himself from Haku's grip. "I do not understand the situation, but—"

"_The situation is—"_

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped at the computer which promptly shut up.

"Last night is like a dream come true…"

"…dream?" echoed Sasuke, his mind running through several scenarios as to what Haku had meant.

"_Damage to the chest—"_

"You shut up!"

"…Sasuke… I envy Shiki and your brother. They're so happy now… What should I do…?"

"_The situation is dangerous."_

"T-Then, Haku! If you would be so kind as to wait here, I'll go and get Shiki or Temari here immediately…!"

"…Shiki or Temari…?"

Haku turned half-unfocused eyes towards Sasuke's heavily blushing face, and to her surroundings before turning her attention back to Sasuke, and her eyes came into full focus, waking up completely and realising just where she is.

With a slight scream, Haku pushed herself away from Sasuke, who to his credit, is refusing to look at Haku's face or anywhere at her for that matter, Haku grabbing a jacket to her chest that she'd somehow taken out with her when she wandered out half-asleep, stuttering.

"A-A-A-A-A-Ano…!"

"A-A-A-Are you hurt, Haku?!"

"No! This isn't what I meant to do!" Haku tried to explain, blushing red, and it didn't help matters that Sasuke is blushing as well. "I was just half asleep and—"

Haku blushed before seeming to disappear out of the room, apologising all the while.

Silence.

"What was that all about?" wondered Sasuke, wondering if that day is indeed a good day to be in the stimulation room.

"_The enemy is getting away. Should we pursue?"_

"Shut up!"

**

* * *

**Three hours later, Shiki was trying to stifle her laughter as she listened to what Haku has to tell her whilst in one of the report rooms in the shinobi headquarters, going through the visitors' list who would be arriving into Konoha for the Flower Festival held a week from now.

"And so you walked in on Sasuke half-asleep?"

"B-B-But…!"

"Don't worry, Sasuke isn't the type to tattle," said Shiki, hiding a smile from her already obviously embarrassed best friend sitting beside her. "Besides, who on earth walks around the shinobi headquarters half naked anyway? You're lucky that it's early morning and that no one was around."

"Maybe I shouldn't have drunk that cup of sake last night…" mumbled Haku.

"Well, you should have said something if you can't hold your liquor," said Shiki exasperatedly. "Everyone thought that you could, since the rest of us could."

"Yeah…" mumbled Haku before turning to look at Shiki. "Are you doing anything later?"

Shiki stacked the papers neatly without looking up, her expression changing before turning towards Haku with a serious expression. "It's Yahiko's death anniversary today."

Haku's face fell. "Oh right."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At sundown that day, one can find Shiki, Haku, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro gathered at the lake behind Konoha, dropping some white lilies into the water, the water current taking the flowers to who-knows-where. It is a tradition in Fire Kingdom for some time now if they could not pay their respects to the graves of a loved one.

Watching them from up a tree not too far away, Konan folded a paper crane before letting it rest in the palm of her hand, and watched the paper crane fly away by using her Paper Animation jutsu, watching the sunset.

'_Another year has passed. Nagato. Where are you?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Four days later, the capital city of Fire Kingdom is getting busy once more as visitors were flocking in from just about everywhere with the start of the Flower Festival which is one of the biggest festivals ever held in the elemental kingdoms.

And as such, the visitors who were entering the capital city of Konoha were all getting stopped at the main gates of the capital city for the guards to clarify their identity before allowing them to pass. Several shinobis were patrolling the city as well, and decorations were put up all over town because of the Flower Festival.

A wagon from some faraway town was stopped at the gates as well, with the rider being a man with garb covering him from head to foot, only allowing his eyes to be seen. The guard who was examining his passport nodded before recording down his particulars and allowing him to pass.

"You're clear."

The man nodded in thanks before jerking the horse reins, and the horse pulling the wagon started to enter the city before the man lead the wagon to the back of the city where there was a forest, and the wagon stopped.

The rider then got off the wagon before pulling the garb off himself, and four others exited from within the wagon…all of them boring the Sound shinobi badge somewhere on their person, with the leader with a bandage over one eye.

"Danzo-sama…"

"Aa. We're here."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The moment that Shiki stepped into the Fire Palace, she knew that something is wrong.

Call it intuition if you must, but she got a sudden bad feeling about things, and looked left and right about her quickly, taking in the sight of what she can see from the entrance of the palace, quickly memorising the number of shinobi guards patrolling the palace.

Shiki quickly thought back to what Mizuki had taught them in the Academy during their senior and final year at the Academy regarding shinobi protocol within the palace itself, and knew that something is wrong immediately.

For one thing, she can _sense _the number of chakra presences in the palace even without giving out a subtle chakra pulse to sense for shinobi presences.

And another thing is that she can _see _the shinobi guards guarding the palace.

Other than the two guards standing guard at the audience chamber if anyone is asking for an interview with the king and queen, along with the two guards guarding the entrance of the palace, no one, shinobi or civilian, will be able to _see, _let alone _sense _the guards guarding the palace.

The Royal Guard are named as such for a reason – they stay hidden. And unless Shiki who is the Captain of the shinobi forces or Iruka who is the Captain of the Royal Guard or the king and queen says so, none of them would allow themselves to be seen, since in the end, a member of the Royal Guard aren't allowed to be seen, let alone sense.

Something is definitely wrong.

Shiki narrowed her eyes slightly before turning and exiting the palace, making a beeline straight to the shinobi headquarters where she knew Gaara, Haku, as well as Sasuke and Itachi would be in.

She soon found them in one of the report rooms, discussing something which Shiki has no interest in at the moment.

"Hey guys. We got a problem."

All four looked up at her at this point, seeing her unnaturally grim expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I think we have intruders in the palace itself," said Shiki grimly, and the eyes of all four widened in horror and shock. "The 'guards' aren't acting like how the Royal Guard are trained. I think that those 'guards' that I see in the palace—"

"Wait a moment! You _saw _them?!"

Shiki nodded. "That's how I knew that they aren't members of the Royal Guard. This means that they are intruders."

Gaara growled. "How many?"

"I counted at least fifty of them," said Shiki grimly. "I'm going to have a word with Iruka after this regarding the security of the palace if a bunch of intruders can just waltz in, and no one noticed if I didn't have to go to the palace today!"

Sasuke nearly groaned. "What should we do?"

"Gaara and Itachi, you both come with me," said Shiki. "Sasuke and Haku, go and find Konan and her team. Tell them to get their butts over to the palace immediately and brief them on the situation. Keep it quiet since we do not want anyone panicking and risk getting the king or queen harmed. The prince and princess are now somewhere in town with Ino's team as their escorts, so I'm not worried about them."

Sasuke and Haku nodded. "Gotcha," said Haku before the two left the room.

Shiki turned towards Gaara and Itachi. "Come on!"

**

* * *

**The moment that the three entered the palace, the strong scent of blood reached their nostrils, and all three paled.

"Itachi, Gaara, eliminate as many of those intruders that you can find immediately!" Shiki ordered. "I'm going to the king and queen!"

Both shinobis nodded before heading off to their orders. As Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces, Shiki's first priority is the king and queen. And the first thing that they have to do now is to secure the palace.

**

* * *

**_Clang!_

The metal of the kunai clashed against the upraised kunai of one of the intruders, and Jiraiya and Tsunade turned around to see Shiki panting, standing at the entrance of the audience chamber before throwing a kunai through the throat of one of the intruders, killing him instantly.

The redhead was relieved to see that Konan, Deidara, Kisame and Sasori were within the audience chamber, protecting the king and queen. Dead bodies of the intruders laid about everywhere…and a number of the bodies were several of their own shinobis as well.

This is just like déjà vu.

"Damn! What is going on?!" Shiki cursed as she stood near the king and queen, a kunai out in one hand, breaking the neck of another intruder.

"These guys are from Oto!" grunted Jiraiya. "I thought that Orochimaru will try to pull something like this soon enough!"

A loud cry from the front caught their attention just then, and all seven froze as they saw the man who seemed to be the leader of the intruders entering the audience chamber with a bloodstained sword. Konan narrowed her eyes dangerously, nearly breaking the kunai that she's holding in half. She knew who this man is, having seen him only once nearly eleven years ago back during the attack on the Whirlpool Kingdom…

"Danzo…"

Danzo looked at Konan with a curious expression. "Do I know you?"

"I guess that you wouldn't remember me," said Konan. "It's been so long. And I seriously doubt that you remember every person whom you fought and kill. Never thought that you're still alive. I thought that you're already dead."

Danzo looked at Konan with a puzzled expression. "Who—" His eyes widened in horror just then, and he looked down to see a blade sticking out of his chest from his back and turned his head only to have his eyes widened in shock. "You are…!"

The blade was pulled out of his body just then, and he fell to the ground dead, revealing his killer standing behind him.

The eyes of the four Akatsuki members widened in shock, and Shiki could only stare.

"It can't be…!" Jiraiya muttered, staring at the man who had killed Danzo. "You are…!"

The man had dark orange hair matted down with crimson eyes with no emotion within them. A dark cloak was wound around his shoulders, and beneath it, he was wearing a black ninja netted shirt with a black and dark blue coat and black pants with black combat boots and fingerless gloves, a bloodstained sword currently in his hand.

An emblem of a spiral was also stitched on the end of his coat.

Deidara was the first one to find his voice.

"…Nagato-taichou. Is that you?"

"…Nagato…?" Konan nearly whispered. "What's happened to you?"

"It's been awhile," said Nagato, sheathing his sword. "Konan."

"Nagato!"

"The king and queen of Fire Kingdom…" Nagato turned towards Jiraiya and Tsunade, both who were looking positively shocked at his appearance, ignoring his former comrades. "You both are close friends of the king and queen of Whirlpool Kingdom. So it's not possible that you don't know what had happened eleven years ago! And exactly why Whirlpool Kingdom was destroyed!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked guilty.

"Nagato…"

Nagato glared. "Why haven't you done anything?"

"You know that we can't!" said Jiraiya. "At least not yet."

Nagato narrowed his eyes. "You're going to make the same mistake that you did years ago with the queen, aren't you?" he scowled. "This time with the princess?"

Shiki can only stare. _'Huh?'_

"We—"

"Where is the princess?"

"Don't worry, she's safe," said Tsunade, glancing at Shiki. "The Akatsuki are keeping an eye on her."

"Does Oto know about her?"

"Not yet," said Kisame. "But it's only a matter of time before they knew. The princess is a spitting image of the queen. Anyone who met the queen will know instantly who the princess is."

Konan narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to fight in the shadows again, Nagato?" she asked. "Just like before…eleven years ago? Are you going to fight in the battle between light and darkness again? Alone?"

"I couldn't protect the queen and the king, Konan," said Nagato. "But this time will be different. I _will _protect the princess! I swore a blood oath the day that the king and queen died. I swore that I will protect the princess. I will never let anything happen to her!"

"Then fight together with us!" said Sasori. "It's been eleven years… What have you been doing all this time?"

Nagato closed his eyes. "Keeping Oto away from the princess…wherever she is, that is," he said.

"Nagato, come back. Let's fight together. Once more. Just like before."

"I'm no hero, Konan," said Nagato. "Because if that is so, then what does 'the gift of the goddess' means to us? To those of Whirlpool?"

Konan looked distressed.

'_The gift of the goddess…?' _thought Shiki. _'"The infinite in mystery which is the gift of the goddess." Loveless, act one? The story which originated from the Whirlpool Kingdom?'_

"Nagato…have you fallen into Hell?" Shiki spoke at last, and Nagato stared at her, finally noticing her. "Become that which we of the Whirlpool feared the most?"

"Princess…?" Nagato closed his eyes. "…please forgive me." He then exploded into a cloud of ravens.

Silence.

"…when are you going to stop running…?" Konan fell to her knees. "…Nagato…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The cleanup was horrible during the aftermath, and the shinobis were careful to not let news of the attack on the palace leak out to the general populace. Iruka was not pleased when he discovered that the members of his Royal Guard _did not _even notice the intruders, and did not even find the number of guards walking about the palace strange.

That day at sundown, Konan headed to the lake behind the capital city and found Shiki sitting by the lake, watching the number of lily flowers float down the stream, being carried away by the water current.

"He's always been near, hasn't he?" asked Shiki without turning around. "Nagato."

"Yeah," said Konan with a slight smile. "Running away… That's always what he did best, I guess. He's consumed by hatred for the Sound Kingdom and for Orochimaru. And not to mention the fact that Yahiko died at Orochimaru's hands." Konan sighed. "Nagato is the best among us. That's a fact. He trained directly under the king of Whirlpool Kingdom himself since the king found something special about Nagato when we first went to the capital city of Whirlpool." She sighed. "I should have known that Nagato will do what he did to Danzo…since that man is the leader of the forces that led the attack on Whirlpool Kingdom eleven years ago."

"But with the attack on the palace…I guess we can safely say that Orochimaru is finally moving," said Shiki, and Konan nodded. Shiki sighed and looked back at the water of the lake. _'You're too much consumed by revenge, Nagato. That isn't the Akatsuki's code. They don't kill for revenge. They kill as a matter of duty. Do I have to carry out the first law of the Whirlpool Kingdom on you, Nagato?'_


	15. The Calm Before the Storm

I sincerely apologise for the late update! I have writer's block, and I can't seem to find the motivation to continue writing some of my stories for some oddball reason… Anyway, regarding Shiki and her identity…her friends _will _find out about it sooner or later, only not so soon. Also, the rating will go up a little in this story little for sexual indications. I may or may not put in lemon scenes in this story, depending on how I take it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The Calm Before the Storm**

It was a beautiful day in Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom. It was currently early morning, and the morning mist was just starting to clear. The only ones that were currently awake in the capital city were the morning patrol shinobis and the few shop vendors in Konoha who have decided to open shop early.

And in a certain apartment in the shinobi district of Konoha where majority of the population of shinobis lived, one can find Namikaze Shiki and Uchiha Itachi.

The curtains of the single bedroom in the apartment were drawn, only opened a slight crack to allow some of the sunlight in, and the narrow beam of the sunlight shining into the room was reflected on the three photo-frames currently standing on the bedside table.

One was that of a redhead girl standing in between a redhead boy with pale green eyes and a raven-haired girl with sapphire-coloured eyes. The second photograph was that of a group of teens taken outside the ninja Academy of Fire Kingdom on the day of their graduation from the Academy, all wearing their shinobi badges proudly on their collars. And the third photo was that of a redhead girl with a raven-haired teen. Also on the bedside table by the photo frames were two shinobi badges which colours indicate a high ninja rank in Fire Kingdom itself.

And the two people in the third photograph itself were currently tangled in the bed sheets of the kunoichi's apartment, with garments strewn about all over the place, with a flash of ebony black mingled with fiery red.

Tongues tangled with each other engaged each other in an eternal dance as Itachi ran his fingers through the fiery-red hair of his lover, savouring her taste. But all that soon came to an end thanks to the arrival of a certain feathery creature otherwise known as a messenger bird.

In the Fire Kingdom, the arrival of a messenger bird was never a good thing. It usually meant that the king or the queen was summoning you for a mission, with the mission level and the summons type depending on the colour of the scrolls that the messenger birds carried. A red scroll meant level one emergency. A blue scroll meant that it's from the hospital itself. A green scroll meant that it's a mid-level mission. A brown scroll meant that it's an ordinary summons from the king and queen. And a white scroll meant that it's an extremely important mission, and when the king or queen summon you, you come, and you come quickly. But a raven with a black scroll meant that there is a death in the family, and that one family member of yours won't be returning home tonight. And it definitely seems like a few months from now, the ravens will be very busy indeed…as is the messengers that worked in the shinobi headquarters who issued the messenger birds and their scrolls.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Itachi and Shiki nearly groaned as both looked over to the window to see a white messenger pigeon perched on the windowsill, tapping at the window with a white scroll with red edges to it. Shiki frowned as she saw this. It was a form of colour code known only among the Royal Guard. A white scroll with coloured edges – depending on the colour – are usually top secret messages, and that the recipient must_ always_ burn the message after reading it.

Shiki tapped onto Itachi's arm, motioning silently for him to let her up to receive the message, and the Uchiha groaned. "Must you?" he nearly whined. "It's our day off today."

Shiki nearly rolled her eyes at this. "Yes," she said. "The scroll is one of the Royal Guard's, and even you know what that meant. The queen will skin me alive if I ignore her message, or if I respond too late to her message."

Itachi groaned, but moved over to allow Shiki to get up to receive the message. The messenger bird waited patiently as Shiki removed the scroll from it's leg before taking off again. Shiki immediately unrolled the scroll and read the contents in it before frowning and focusing some chakra into the scroll and watched as the scroll was immediately engulfed in flames.

Sighing a little inwardly, she moved towards Itachi and shook him slightly. "Come on, hurry up and get changed. We have an emergency summons from the king and queen."

**

* * *

**_Fire Palace  
__Fire Kingdom_

Tsunade nodded as Shiki and Itachi entered the audience chamber, standing alongside Sasuke, Gaara and Haku. Jiraiya was standing by his wife, and he nodded to them, a rather serious look on his face, and if it's the king himself who is serious, all five shinobis present knew that it's something major.

"Right, I'm sorry for calling all of you here on your day off, but we don't have much of a choice at present," said Tsunade. "As you know, the attack by Ne – Oto's elite forces which is the equivalent of our Royal Guard in Fire Kingdom – have just attacked Fire Palace a mere week ago, and it's only by extreme luck that the civilians weren't aware of it, and this information was only kept to the members of the Royal Guard itself."

Jiraiya took up the mantle next. "And seeing as how Oto is now bold enough to actually attempt an attack on Fire Palace itself which fortunately failed thanks to the…timely arrival of the Akatsuki…" No one noticed the slight pause that Jiraiya had made save for Itachi who narrowed his eyes slightly. "Tsunade and myself have decided to recruit more allies in our fight against Oto. As of now, Wind is our only ally whom we knew will rush to our aid. Of the six major powers in the elemental kingdoms, Mizu (Water) is neutral, Iwa (Rock) will sooner offer themselves to the demons than help us, thanks to the last Great War that they've suffered a major defeat at our hands, Rai (Lightning) is neutral as well, and Uzu (Whirlpool) is no longer around. And Oto is the one that we're actually going to fight against."

Gaara frowned. "Who are you going to recruit as our ally then?" he asked.

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged glances before turning back towards their shinobis. "The inhabitants of the Dark Forest and Eagle Creek." Tsunade stated. "The demons themselves."

The faces of all her shinobis went pale immediately, and Haku gaped at Tsunade whilst Gaara blinked and blinked, wondering if there is something wrong with his hearing.

"Forgive me for my rudeness, Your Majesty, but that is a crazy idea!" said Haku. "The demons will never consent to help us."

"No, I think we should get the demons' help as well," said Shiki, and her friends turned towards her, staring at Shiki with a look that suggested that she's insane.

"Shiki, you can't be serious." Gaara protested.

"Before Orochimaru finds them and convince them to help his cause, we should find the demons ourselves and ally ourselves with them," said Shiki. "Think about it. If Orochimaru is indeed trying to start a war again, he might extend an invitation to the demons. One that they can't refuse."

Everyone was silent before Sasuke spoke up. "I don't know about that," he said hesitantly. "The demons hate humans. That's why they hid themselves away in the Dark Forest and Eagle Creek respectively. Even the vampires. They don't hate the humans, but they don't exactly hold us in high regard either. We won't be returning alive if we ever tread foot in the Forbidden Forest – the vampires' lair. And as far as I know, the only human in the entire universe who had ever gotten along with the demons is the princess of the now destroyed Whirlpool Kingdom. And that's only because humans and demons co-existed peacefully together in that kingdom."

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, until Orochimaru is insane enough to put the demons under mind control eleven years ago when he attacked the Whirlpool Kingdom," she said. "The demons were so horrified by what they've done that they shut themselves in Eagle Creek and the Dark Forest respectively, avoiding any and all contact with the humans."

Haku frowned. "But the Uzu princess is missing now," she said. "Does that mean that we don't have a chance?"

"Not exactly…" said Tsunade slowly, glancing at Shiki who nearly groaned at the queen's look. How on earth are they going to explain this to her friends? "Shiki, I want you to take on a solo mission to find the demons at the Dark Forest and Eagle Creek. Get them to ally with us."

"Your Majesty, you're expecting Shiki to spin some sort of miracle?" asked Gaara incredulously. "How on earth is she going to succeed having the demons ally with us when nearly every single one of the shinobis that we've sent in the past has failed?"

Tsunade smiled a secret smile to herself. "Well, if it's anyone who can 'spin miracles' as you've said, Gaara, it's her," she said. She then turned towards Shiki. "Expect this mission to take you up to two weeks at the earliest, and a month at the latest. Take Natsu with you, seeing as how your horse is the fastest horse in all of Fire Kingdom."

Shiki nodded curtly, refusing to look at any of her friends in the face. "…hai."

**

* * *

**_Fire Kingdom  
__Two Hours Later_

"I still think that it's a crazy idea, Shiki." Haku was still protesting two hours later as the ice maiden herself, Gaara and Shiki were walking through the town area of the capital city of Fire Kingdom, shopping for the supplies that Shiki needs for her mission. The Uchiha brothers were busy with something and the other, and thus, were unable to come along with them. "It's too dangerous!"

"Come on, it's a mission from the queen herself," said Shiki, rolling her eyes towards the sky as she read through her shopping list, checking if she's missed out anything on her list. "It's not like I can just say no."

"It's almost like a suicide mission to me," muttered Haku. "If I didn't know any better, Shiki, I'll think that the queen wants you dead."

Gaara and Shiki stopped in their tracks just then, and both looked left and right quickly before turning towards Haku, a rather strange expression on their faces. "Haku, it's alright if you just say it to us, but you'd better not repeat that to anyone else, especially the king and queen themselves and the other members of the Royal Guard," said Shiki warningly. "They'll arrest you for treason."

"But—"

"Look Haku, if you're so worried, I'll send a report back to the king and queen every week to show you that I'm doing fine, alright?" said Shiki. "It's what I was supposed to do anyway. If I'm still not back after a month, you can mobilise the entire hunter division of the Royal Guard after me or something."

Gaara placed a hand on his childhood friend's shoulder. "Come on, Haku," said the redhead. "Shiki's a ninja, and she's the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces. Have some faith in her skills."

"Captain or not, she's still human, Gaara," said Haku. "How is she able to fend off an attack by about a dozen or so demons if they ever decided that they wanted her for supper? Usually, missions like this are assigned to two or more shinobis. Why is it a solo mission this time around? I don't understand. The queen refuses to so much as let me go on this mission, or any other person for that matter, no matter how much we have begged."

Shiki was silent. She knew just why the queen had sent her on a solo mission to recruit the demons into their cause. She knew that the demons will recognise her as part of Whirlpool's royal line, and having someone else with her is a definite no-no. Furthermore, the Akatsuki can't come with her for obvious reasons on this mission.

For one thing, they're still considered 'new shinobis' in the ranks of the Fire Kingdom, and most 'new shinobis' aren't placed on diplomatic missions which is what this mission is ranked as.

"Come on, I'll be alright," said Shiki. "Everything will be just fine, you'll see. Now come on, let's hurry up and buy all the stuff that I need for the mission before all the shops close for the day."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Dark Forest  
__Three Weeks Later_

Natsu neighed as Shiki stroked his long face, the horse nuzzling into Shiki.

It has been three weeks ever since she had set off on her mission to get the demons to ally with the Fire Kingdom. Shiki had headed to Eagle Creek first of all as it's much further from the Fire Kingdom, and the demons were about to have her for their lunch until they saw the chain with the Whirlpool's emblem on it which is the necklace that was handed down to the heir of the Whirlpool's throne for generation after generation which Shiki usually kept with her, but not wearing it.

Unfortunately though, the demons at Eagle Creek refused to ally with Fire Kingdom, even for Shiki's sake. Sure, they respected and liked the people of Whirlpool a lot, but after what had happened the last time that they have mingled with humans, the demons feared human contact once more and decided to shut themselves away in Eagle Creek. The only thing that eased Shiki's mind is that the leader of the demons had assured her himself that they may not ally themselves with Fire Kingdom, but they wouldn't ally themselves with Oto either. Oto are the ones who have caused the demons to partake in the attack on Whirlpool Kingdom eleven years ago after all.

Following that, Shiki had headed to the Dark Forest.

The demons there were easier to convince…by only a little.

They agreed to the alliance, if one can even call it an 'alliance' by the terms that the demons stated that if the Fire Kingdom will have Shiki as their spokesperson so that the demons' contact with the humans are nearly at nil, and they'll stay in the Dark Forest, preventing any Oto-nin to enter their forest, and they won't allow any Oto-nin to harm any Fire citizen as well.

But still, it's better than nothing.

And now, three weeks after her mission, Shiki had sent off a messenger bird explaining the barest details of her mission to the queen and that she can expect her back within a week. And it's whilst when she's barely out of the Dark Forest when the girl in question was ambushed by a hail of kunais and shurikens, and it's fortunate that Natsu is a shinobi trained horse who is the fastest horse in all of Fire Kingdom as the horse managed to avoid all the projectiles to prevent his mistress from getting hurt.

Shiki glanced around herself quickly before leaping off Natsu and readying a kunai in one hand. "Who's there?" she demanded. "Show yourself!"

A flurry of chakra signatures appeared just then, and Shiki's eyes widened in slight shock as she saw nearly forty Oto shinobis appear around her, and she cursed silently to herself. Even as good as she is, she knew that she is of no match against forty shinobis alone. She's not stupid. And by the looks of things, those Oto-nins were out for blood.

Shiki looked left and right, and suddenly whistled a special horse whistle that she was trained to use during shinobi training back at the ninja Academy in case of emergency. The horse whistle is a special whistle that Natsu was trained to act on immediately. The moment that she uses that whistle, Natsu will head towards Fire Kingdom without stopping, and once the shinobis at the Fire Kingdom saw Natsu, they'll know that something is wrong and will send backup…assuming that they ever make it in time.

Shiki smirked as she saw Natsu shot off like a bullet towards the direction of Fire Kingdom, none of the Oto-nins being able to so much as touch him, and she drew out her wakizashi on her back. "If you want me…" she said, her eyes turning cold and malicious. "…come and get me."

The next instant, there was a flurry of action, and weapons flew through the air…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Shinobi Library  
__Fire Kingdom_

Shisei Haku was browsing through several medic books on the human anatomy in the library for the shinobis in Fire Kingdom when she felt her left eye twitching and frowned, rubbing her eye gently. Call it superstition if you must, but her eyelid _always _twitches whenever something bad is about to happen…or _had_ happened.

Like that time with the orphanage years ago when Yahiko was attacked, her eyelid kept twitching non-stop when she's on a mission with Gaara back then, with herself dismissing it as her mind playing tricks on her back then until the message had arrived from the king.

"Haku."

Haku turned around to see a serious-looking Gaara standing behind her just then, and she blinked. "Gaara?" she muttered. "What's wrong?"

Gaara was silent for a while, and warning bells started ringing in Haku's mind just then before the redhead spoke. "Urgent message from the king," he said. "A few hours ago, Natsu was seen heading towards the front gates of Fire Kingdom…_alone. _Apparently, Shiki had used her horse whistle."

All colour drained from Haku's face. If Shiki had used her horse whistle… All kinds of scenarios started forming in Haku's mind. "And?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"Two combat squads and a tracking squad from the Royal Guard were dispatched to wherever Shiki had sent Natsu to Fire Kingdom from," said Gaara, fidgeting on one foot to the next. "Neji and Kiba were among them. They found her not too far away from the entrance of the Dark Forest itself. She _eliminated _about forty or so Oto-nins who have apparently tried to ambush her, but she's seriously injured."

Haku didn't even realise that she's dropped all of the books in her arms to the ground as she stared at Gaara, as if pleading with him silently to tell her that it's all a sick joke. It can't be happening… It just can't be… Not Shiki…not her best friend…

"And?" she nearly whispered.

Gaara averted his eyes away from Haku. "She's currently in the operating room of the hospital," he said. "Sakura, Ino, Shizune-san and the new medic-nin – Konan – were all trying to save her now. Sasuke had just gone to inform his brother. We should get going to the hospital now."

Haku nodded mutely, still in shock. She didn't even realise it when Gaara took her gently by the arm and guided her out of the library and towards the direction of the hospital.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Office of the Captain of the Royal Guard  
__Fire Kingdom  
__Four Hours Later_

Umino Iruka sighed as he rubbed his temples together tiredly.

Things have been simply disastrous for him from the moment when he had first rolled out of bed.

Namikaze Shiki had just came out of a successful surgery two hours earlier, and Konan and Shizune have both said that the surgery is a success, though it's an extremely close one, and that Shiki had suffered some injuries to her head, and she'll probably have a head concussion of some sort for awhile.

Despite Iruka's best efforts to stop the news about Shiki getting attacked by Oto-nins out to the general populace, the news somehow still managed to leak out, especially since nearly _everyone _in the Fire Kingdom had seen Natsu's sudden arrival at the gates of Fire Kingdom _without _his mistress.

And when the queen of Fire Kingdom herself caught wind about the attack on Namikaze Shiki, she threw several things, including her desk and Jiraiya, out of the window, all the time screaming at Iruka for answers.

"Umino! What's this about one of my best ninjas getting ambushed and is currently in the hospital?!" Tsunade nearly screamed.

Iruka rubbed his temples tiredly at his memory of that, it had taken him nearly an hour to assure the queen that he's currently looking into this incident, and that he will be sure to keep the queen updated. Besides, if he doesn't find answers quickly, he's pretty sure that Itachi, Sasuke, Gaara and Haku will skin him alive.

Iruka sighed. Sure, he's happy that Shiki's mission to ally with the demons is kind of successful. I mean, it's already good enough that she can at least get the demons to _listen_ to her, with the demons promising her not to ally with the Oto Kingdom, and everyone knew that demons don't break promises.

But…

Iruka frowned, looking down at his papers.

'_Just why the hell did Oto go after her that Orochimaru actually willingly sacrificed forty of his men just to go after Shiki?'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Hospital  
__Fire Kingdom  
__Three Days Later_

The sounds of the machines beeping were the only sounds that could be heard in room 401 – one of the rooms in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

It was currently early morning, and the curtains of the room were drawn shut, preventing the sunlight from entering the room. And Shisei Haku and Sabaku no Gaara were currently fast asleep on the couch in a corner of the hospital room, a blanket which some doctor or nurse in the hospital was kind enough to get covering them.

Haku woke up first, rubbing her eyes sleepily, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes, and like the past three days, she immediately looked over at the bed where her best friend was currently lying in only to see no reaction and sighed.

Herself and Gaara have practically camped in Shiki's hospital room, and the queen had very kindly given them both some time off as anyone with eyes can tell that they're both in no mood to go on missions anyway. The Uchiha brothers were the same. Though Kakashi has to threaten them both before they'll agree to go home and rest.

And Haku herself was very surprised that she wasn't thrown in the prison or suspended from her ninja duties when she had actually screamed at _the queen _of all people in the Fire Kingdom when she had actually seen Shiki's condition for herself.

If truth be told, Haku thought that the queen looked a little guilty herself, and either herself or Jiraiya would drop by the hospital to visit Shiki. They weren't the only ones either. Nearly all of their friends had dropped by at least once to visit Shiki, and Konohamaru and Moegi – the prince and princess – have practically burst into tears when they saw the redhead.

Haku felt Gaara stirring next to her and turned to see the redhead rubbing his eyes before sitting up, looking towards Shiki's initial direction before turning towards Haku. "Her condition hasn't changed?" he asked, and Haku shook her head.

"We don't even know when she'll wake up," said Haku sadly. "It's a miracle that she's still alive as it is. But…" Haku frowned. "Why did Oto go after Shiki in the first place? So much so that Orochimaru is actually willing to sacrifice forty of his shinobis – ten which are among the members of the 'cursed children' – just to possibly kill Shiki?"

Gaara frowned and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But things have been getting weird of late. Especially after that attack on the palace. The king and queen have been acting pretty strangely as well. They're always popping by the hospital personally to visit Shiki. If they merely treat her like every one of their subjects, they could have just sent a messenger to check on her, or ask one of the doctors at the hospital. Why would they come down to the hospital personally?"

Haku frowned. "Now that you mention it, it does seem rather strange," she said slowly before there was a slight sound coming from Shiki's initial direction, and both Haku and Gaara leapt up at once before racing to Shiki's bedside.

The girl was starting to stir, and Gaara headed to the door. "I'll get the doctor!" he said before heading out of the hospital room in search of a doctor.

"Shiki?" Haku said breathlessly, taking her best friend's hand where several tubes were running in and out of her body. "Can you hear me? Are you feeling alright? Do you remember what had happened and where you are?"

"Haku?" Shiki muttered, her eyes still screwed shut. "Is that you?"

Haku let out a breath which she wasn't aware that she was holding in. Seems like she's going to be just fine if she knew who Haku is. No signs of head trauma and head concussion, thank kami. Seems like she's going to be just fine.

Shiki blinked opened her eyes blearily, revealing sapphire-coloured orbs which almost seem a little dazed, and she doesn't seem to be seeing anything at all.

"Haku?" Shiki muttered.

"Yeah?" asked Haku curiously.

"It's dark," muttered Shiki. "Why is it so dark? Turn on the lights."

Haku froze.

Oh shit.


	16. Trouble with a Capital T

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the universal setting belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Trouble with a Capital T**

Shizune frowned, running a chakra scan over Shiki who was currently sitting in her office, staring ahead of her blankly, seemingly staring at nothing at all…well, not like she _can _actually see anything currently…

On either side of Shiki were Gaara and Haku. Itachi had initially wanted to come, but he had an early mission scheduled for him that day, and the queen wouldn't take no for an answer, and thus, the older Uchiha had grudgingly agreed to take the mission.

It had been two days since Shiki had woken up, and had caused a wide-scale panic among her friends when they realised what had actually happened. And as such, Shiki had to do a lot of 'sensing' just to get about which isn't much of a problem for her as she specialised in chakra sensing as a ninja. But even still, Gaara and Haku were still acting as her 'eyes'.

"What is the problem, Shizune-san?" asked Haku quickly. "Can you fix Shiki's eyes?"

"Head trauma…" Shizune muttered before turning towards Haku. "When she was brought into the hospital by Neji's team, she had suffered severe head injuries. I'm guessing that that must have inflicted her current state, and her eyes must have gotten injured."

"Can't you fix it?" asked Gaara at last.

Shizune sighed. "Injuries to the head and the eyes aren't that simple to fix," she said hesitantly. She studied Shiki before sighing. "Anyway, I'll do something about it. You can go home now if you like, Shiki. It might do you some good to go back home for a while."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Suzaku Shrine  
__Konohagakure no sato_

Konan looked up at the golden statue of the Suzaku bird – the guardian god of the Fire Kingdom which was worshipped by all citizens of the Fire Kingdom. The shrine of the god Suzaku in the Fire Kingdom was the grandest and the largest by far, and many worshippers came to the capital city just to pay their respects to the god, and it isn't much of a surprise that the Suzaku Festival is a pretty large affair that is held every year in the capital city of Fire Kingdom.

Each of the six major powers in the elemental kingdoms had a god that they worshipped, and which in turn, protected them. But the god which is said to be the most powerful of them all was the guardian god of the Whirlpool Kingdom, Susanoo, the god of the winds and skies.

'_Please…' _thought Konan, looking at the statue of the god Suzaku, her hands clasped in prayer. _'Please watch over the princess. She never did anything wrong. Ou-sama (Your Majesty the King), Ouhi-sama (Your Majesty the Queen), you entrusted us with the safety of the princess, and we've failed you. For nearly eleven years, we've combed the entire elemental kingdoms for her, and had only found her recently. Please…please watch over her…and Nagato. Please…'_

There was no reply or answer to Konan's prayer, but still, she kept praying and kept hoping for a miracle of some sort to occur…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Bang! Crash!_

"Hime-sama?" Deidara called out as he heard a crash coming from Shiki's room in her apartment.

All the members of Akatsuki were beyond shocked and horrified to learn what had happened, and Kisame and Deidara had actually wanted to storm the Oto Kingdom and bomb the whole place up, screw whatever debt that the Whirlpool Kingdom had ever owed Orochimaru. Sasori, the second-in-command of sorts after Konan, and also the most level-headed of the Akatsuki after Nagato and Konan managed to stop the two with Zetsu's help.

And because Haku and Gaara could not be with Shiki twenty four hours a day because of their responsibilities as ninja, and because even Shizune had said that Shiki seemed to be able to make it around the capital city by herself if necessary even if she's lost her sight as her chakra sensing abilities as well as her other senses seemed to have increased drastically with this incident. And because the Akatsuki were all worried about Shiki, they decided to send one of their number to watch over her, and Deidara was chosen.

"Hime-sama?" Deidara called out as he announced his presence by knocking onto the opened door before stepping into Shiki's room. The redhead seemed to have knocked a stack of books from the table and seemed to be searching for something within her drawer. "What are you looking for?"

"A blue and green gem," was the answer. "My mother gave it to me the night that she died."

Deidara's hand closed onto a smooth and oval-shaped object within the drawer before he drew it out, recognising it instantly as the 'key' that the queen of the Whirlpool Kingdom had given to the princess the night that they had died, and the blonde pressed it into the princess's hand.

"Is this it?"

"Yeah." Shiki smiled slightly, feeling the gem safely in her hand. "This is it."

Deidara sighed as he watched the princess make her way to the sitting room of her apartment, and sighed before clearing up the mess and stacking the books that were knocked over neatly before making his way out of the room. He had to admit, the princess seemed to be quite well-off, and seemed to be quite successful as a ninja if she can afford this nice apartment in the shinobi district.

Shiki was sitting at the windowsill, staring out of the window, yet not seeing anything at all. Deidara had asked Shiki about it once, and she had said that she may have lost her sight, but her hearing had been enhanced a great deal, and she can hear lots of interesting sounds that she couldn't use to hear. Like the sound of the wind, for example.

"Hime-sama…" Deidara started, and Shiki half-turned towards him, her sky blue eyes looking at him like she was _actually _seeing him. Deidara sighed. "I was talking with the others yesterday. All of us think that Orochimaru and Oto might know who you are by now." He said hesitantly. Shiki didn't say anything. "And if that is so…do you think that it is wise by remaining in Fire? Should we leave for the Demon Kingdom or something?"

"Deidara." Shiki interrupted. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm not leaving Fire." Deidara opened his mouth to argue, but Shiki put up a hand to stop him. "If I leave Fire now, my friends would be curious. More than one of them is sharp enough to put the pieces together on their own, you know? Especially Haku, Gaara and Neji. And even Itachi and Sasuke. And if that happens, that will be the start of the Fourth Great War. Wind and Fire are both on extremely good terms with the Whirlpool in the past, and they loved and respected my parents. If they knew about me, there'll be no hesitance in declaring war against Oto. And even Tsunade and Jiraiya can't do anything if more than half of the shinobi and civilian populace of their kingdom demanded for some Oto blood…Orochimaru's especially."

Deidara blinked and sighed. The princess made some valid points, but that didn't mean that he has to like it. "Fine, we won't leave," he said, grumbling something beneath his breath which made Shiki smile. Deidara, along with the rest of the Akatsuki were like older brothers and sisters to Shiki when she was growing up as all of them had babysat her more than once when she was a child, and they were even her bodyguards of sorts.

"Thank you."

"But trouble is brewing," said Deidara warningly. "I'm sure that even you knew this, Hime-sama."

Shiki didn't say anything.

Yes, she knew what trouble that Deidara was talking about. She had to be deaf to not know anything about the troubles concerning the Fire Kingdom these days. There have been plenty of attacks and ambushes on the border patrol guards and the shinobi outposts of Fire Kingdom these days, and the attackers were identified to be Oto-nins. At this rate, it won't be long before Orochimaru launched a direct assault on Fire Kingdom itself.

KABOOM!

Shiki literally jumped about a foot in the air, and Deidara was by Shiki's side in an instant, a kunai out, and glancing all around him suspiciously for any threats and strange movements. When he saw none, the blonde moved towards the window and looked out of it, and what he saw made him curse and swear in about five different languages immediately.

Shiki was concerned. What she could hear that is happening out there isn't making her all the more reassured as there was the sound of faint screams, and the sounds of metal against metal, as well as the sounds of combat out there.

"What is it?" she asked in concern. "Deidara, what is happening out there?"

Deidara didn't answer her question immediately, but he was practically seething with anger, and Shiki could sense the aura of anger coming off him in waves, and Deidara was gripping onto his kunai so tightly that it was dangerously close to snapping in half in his hand.

What Deidara could see, and which Shiki could not, was the hordes of Oto-nins entering the gates of Konoha, the capital city of Fire Kingdom, and there was smoke coming from several different parts of Konoha, and several of the lower ranked ninjas were helping to evacuate the civilians to the underground shelters whilst several of the shinobis of Fire Kingdom, among which included the Royal Guard, were fighting off the invaders.

Deidara looked at Shiki with concern. He knew why Oto was here.

They're here for the princess of Whirlpool.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji and his two teammates – Rock Lee and Kinzoku Tenten – were both enjoying their day off at the eastern district of Konoha where they were in a cafe of some sort, enjoying a nice meal of éclairs and doughnuts with coffee, and Tenten even arranged to buy some éclairs from the owner of the cafe for Shiki as the redhead loves them, and their team had even arranged to go and visit her as they'd heard from Sakura when they'd reported in earlier that morning at the shinobi headquarters after their mission that she's been discharged from the hospital two days ago, and that some blonde shinobi was helping to guide her around.

It was a nice pleasant day that Monday afternoon, and Neji was tuning out another one of his teammate, Lee's rants and raves about his beloved girlfriend, Sakura, and what she could be doing. Now, don't get me wrong. Neji liked Lee and Sakura a lot as they were both some of his close friends, and they were even in the Academy together, but he'll rather Lee keep some of their private moments to himself…_a lot._

Of course, that had all came to a stop when there was a loud explosion that caused Neji to snort half of his coffee up his nose, and Tenten nearly choked on the éclair on that she was eating, and all three of them immediately turned towards the main gate of Konoha where the explosion had came from.

Not long after that, there was the loud sound of wood hitting against wood which simply echoed all over Konoha, thanks to the amplifiers all over the capital city in case of emergency like an invasion. That was the signal for all shinobis in Konoha to take battle positions to drive out the intruders and for the civilians to head towards the evacuation shelters immediately.

Neji, Lee and Tenten immediately recognised the outfits as well as the symbol of the shinobi badges of all the intruders currently barging into Konoha, and all three exchanged looks before heading towards the northern side of Konoha.

Looks like Oto is here at last.

**

* * *

**"What the _fuck _are all these things?!" Inuzuka Kiba nearly howled as he ripped the head off another…monster-like creature with the body of that of a wolf and the head of that of a snake, the marks of the cursed seal of Orochimaru's running all over it's body.

"Some of the cursed children, perhaps?" Hinata asked as she Jyuuken-ed another four Oto-nins near her to kingdom come, knocking them all out immediately.

"But they look different from all the usual members of the cursed children that we used to face." Kiba objected before yelping as a kunai thrown by Shino zipped past him and embedded itself into the head of an Oto-nin behind him. "Hey! Watch where you throw that thing!"

"They seems to be some of Orochimaru's experiments who have the cursed seal," said Shino calmly, ignoring his teammate. "So Oto had finally came."

Hinata chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "Shiki can't really fight right now," she said nervously. "Who's protecting the king and queen as well as the prince and princess?"

"Those new shinobis are doing it," said Shino quickly. "I've seen their skill for myself, and they're really good. Furthermore, Haku and Gaara are with the Royal Guard near the palace. They'll be just fine. Let's do what we can without Shiki's assistance."

Kiba exchanged worried looks with Shino. He never did realise just how much everyone had relied on Shiki in the Fire Kingdom…

"What is _that?!" _Hinata gave a horrified scream just then, and both her teammates turned towards the direction where she was looking towards, and Kiba nearly lost his lunch, and Shino resisted the urge to vomit.

They were staring at what seemed to be an undead army with several missing limbs, and all wielding some sort of weapon in their hands, their eyes all blank, and not seeing anything at all. Shino narrowed his eyes dangerously behind his sunglasses as he noticed the clan symbol on the armour of one of the 'zombies'.

"That symbol…" Shino muttered to himself. "They were the members of the samurai clan of Seichio village!"

Hinata and Kiba nearly froze as they heard this. About a week ago, they had received reports of Seichio village – a rather small village to the western continent of the Fire Kingdom that had been wiped out by unknown forces. A samurai clan was all the protection that the village had as the nearest shinobi outpost was at least ten miles away from the village.

"It can't be…" Kiba muttered.

"Looks like the members of the clan were all turned into slaves by Orochimaru." Hinata muttered, anger laced in her voice. "How…_dare _he?! Has he no respect for the dead?!"

"And what the _hell _is that?!"

Shino's horrified shout caused both Kiba and Hinata to turn towards where he was pointing only to see what seemed to be a part-wolf, part-snake and part-tiger being walking towards the front of the undead army, the marks of the cursed seal spreading all over his body.

Kiba scratched his head. "The head shinobi?" he questioned only to receive a smack over his head by Hinata.

"Does _that _look like a shinobi to you?!" Hinata nearly snapped.

"Watch out! Here they come!" Shino shouted, before all three of them readied their weapons as the undead army came towards them…

**

* * *

**CRASH!

Another three Oto-nins were sent flying out of the hole in the wall of the shinobi headquarters of Fire Kingdom, and a fairly irate as well as extremely upset Haruno Sakura walked out of the hole in the wall, black gloves strapped on both hands, before being followed by her best friend – Yamanaka Ino.

The surrounding Oto-nins all looked unsure of what to do as they were all getting a bad vibe from this pink-haired kunoichi. It was just pure bad luck for this particular group that they chose this day to attack Konoha when one of Fire Kingdom's strongest kunoichis happened to be in the shinobi headquarters helping with some paperwork. And said kunoichi also happened to be one of Fire Kingdom's best kunoichis and medic-nins.

"You bastards blast a hole in the wall of the shinobi headquarters of Fire Kingdom, and yet you claim to come with peace?" Sakura demanded, cracking her knuckles together threateningly, and all the Oto-nins gulped nervously. "This is stretching it! I'll have you lot pay for the repairs!"

Ino sighed and muttered to herself. "You mean the wall that _you _broke," she muttered beneath her breath.

There was a loud scream just then, and both Ino and Sakura looked up just in time to see about six bodies belonging to Oto-nins flew from the rooftop before landing in a heap before them. Not long after that, Neji and Tenten landed in a crouch between Sakura and Ino and the Oto-nins.

Ino sighed in relief. "Neji! Tenten!"

The two mentioned straightened themselves up, both not looking too happy, and there was even blood on Tenten's katana.

"Where's Lee?" asked Sakura in concern, worried about her boyfriend.

"Don't worry, he went ahead to the hospital to protect the patients as well as the doctors and nurses from the invaders," said Tenten, half-turning towards Sakura who nodded. "More importantly…" She turned towards the Oto-nins before them. "Let's deal with these guys first."

"Well, they're not Orochimaru or that boy-toy of his, and neither are they members of the cursed children, but they'll do for some target practice, I guess." Neji muttered, and he had such an expression of fury on his face that Sakura was strongly reminded of a dragon breathing fire at everything that dared come near him. Neji's hands glowed blue with chakra just then, and he had a murderous look on his face. "You'll pay for deciding to invade our home, and for what you did to our best friend!"

"That's right," said Tenten, raising her katana. "I'm going to give you lot such a beating of your lives that you'll be forgetting how to write your own name once I'm done with you! And if the lot of you can still manage to walk out of Konoha after this, I'll be surprised."

And both Neji and Tenten disappeared in a blur.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Shiki tripped over what seemed to be a loose stone and fell onto her knees, scrapping her hands slightly. She had never hated her situation more than right now when all of her comrades were fighting to protect their home, and she, as the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces was helpless because she could not see a damn thing!

She had somehow gotten separated from Deidara a while back by some unforeseen circumstances, and had been wandering around Konoha by herself, hearing the sounds of combat, and she can sense enough to tell that the odds are currently in Konoha's favour…for now.

If they don't hurry up and defeat the leader aka Orochimaru, this senseless fight will just continue until Konoha and Fire Kingdom fell to the Oto Kingdom…like what had happened to the Whirlpool Kingdom eleven years ago.

A sharp pain caught Shiki in the ribs just then, and her back crashed against a wall before she slumped down to the ground, and she'll be seeing stars if she _can_ actually _see_ right now. She turned towards the direction where her assailant was standing and got to her feet shakily, drawing out a kunai from her pouch.

"I never thought that I'll actually have the fortune to meet a lone Fire ninja like this," said a sneering voice. "What are you doing? Wandering around like you're lost in your own kingdom?"

Shiki didn't say anything but steadied her hold on her kunai. She has to rely completely on her ears and other senses right now if she wants to survive. In her current state, she cannot beat a shinobi of Yakushi Kabuto and Kaguya Kimimaro's calibre unless she's somehow gotten her sight back, but judging by the chakra levels of this guy before her, he's a low ranked ninja in Oto.

She can probably win this.

"What's the matter? Can't talk either?"

"You talk too much," said Shiki coldly, twirling the kunai about her fingers, feigning that she can see by turning towards the direction where she knew the shinobi was. "Come and get me if you can."

Shiki heard a faint whistling sound and dodged out of the way of a kunai swipe before she heard the sound of stones crunching beneath boots, and turned towards the sound before ducking, and she heard the faint sound of a kunai swiping at the area where her head was a second ago.

This is easier than Shiki had expected, though she won't expect it to go so easily if she's facing someone of Kabuto or Kimimaro's calibre.

There was the sound of something whistling through the air just then, and Shiki cursed inwardly to herself as she couldn't manage to dodge in time, and the toe of the Oto-nin caught her in the ribs and she was sent flying where her back crashed against the wall, hitting the back of her head quite hard against the wall, and she knew that she'll be seeing stars if she _can _actually see right now.

"What's the matter? Can't fight back?" The shinobi taunted, and Shiki got to her feet shakily. "A weak kunoichi like you—"

Whatever that this Oto-nin was about to say, Shiki never knew as she formed a number of handseals quickly before focusing her chakra onto the area where she knew her opponent was standing, hoping that she wouldn't miss her target before saying the two words that everyone in the Fire Kingdom knew as her deadliest ice jutsu.

"Diamond Dust."

The temperature of the surroundings dropped immediately, and there was the sound of a clang as her opponent dropped his kunai to the ground, and Shiki knew that she had encased him in her strongest ice jutsu.

"W-What is this?!"

There was the sound of faint cackling of ice as the ice encased the Oto-nin completely into an ice pillar before Shiki snapped her fingers, and the ice shattered, and then, there was silence. Shiki sank down to her knees, breathing heavily. That last battle had taken a lot out of her, and not to mention that she currently had an aching headache.

A hand clasped down on her shoulder just then, and Shiki immediately reacted by grabbing her kunai and swiping at the area where she thought her assailant was, before said assailant dodged.

"Hime-sama, it's me!" said Deidara's panicked voice, and Shiki stopped. The feel of his chakra _did_ seem like Deidara, and she dropped her kunai. "Are you alright? Man…Konan is going to kill me for letting you get hurt!"

"I'm alright…" said Shiki, panting slightly, pressing one hand to her head. Her headache was worsening. The sounds of battle around her could be heard so clearly, and even the sounds of the wind could be heard so clearly, and she can even feel the heat of the sun. Shiki can feel all these things so clearly that for a moment, it almost seems like she can see the blueness of the sky as well as the partially destroyed buildings…

Wait a minute.

Shiki blinked as her sight seemed to be focusing itself. It started out like she was standing in nothing but complete darkness to slowly fading out before everything is as clear as day, and she can see everything. From Deidara's concerned and anxious face to the body of the dead Oto-nin that she had just fought to the partially destroyed buildings of Konoha.

"Hime-sama?" Deidara voiced out in concern.

"It's blue…" Shiki said in wonder, staring at the sky. She never knew that the sky could be so beautiful before…

Deidara blinked in confusion. "What is?"

"It's blue…" said Shiki, still staring at the sky before turning towards Deidara who now realised what Shiki had meant, and that she can see once more. "I can see again!" She got to her feet, and realised that even with her sight back, her other senses were still extremely sharp – like the time when she was still without her sight. "Deidara, let's go."

Deidara blinked. "Hime-sama?"

"Let's protect Konoha," said Shiki simply. "Oto will rue the day when they choose to invade the Fire Kingdom!"

And she took off towards the direction of the Fire Palace with Deidara close behind her, only one thought running through her head.

'_I'm not letting the same thing that had happened to the Whirlpool Kingdom happen to the Fire Kingdom as well!'_


	17. Apprehension

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Apprehension**

_Audience Chamber, Fire Palace  
__Fire Kingdom_

Kisame growled as he 'shaved' another Oto-nin in half with his Samehada, pulling the frightened prince behind him as another Oto-nin rushed up to him with an upraised sword, which he never got to use as Kisame immediately shaved the poor bastard in half, splattering blood everywhere – most of which landed on his body.

"Damn! There's no end to them!" Sasori cursed to himself as he made the full use of his chakra strings by having the enemy do the fighting for him by controlling their body movements using a technique called the Human Puppet Technique, of which Sasori is the creator.

Itachi grunted as he stood before the front steps which led to the thrones, in which the king and queen were both sitting on, not letting a single Oto-nin get past him as he cleaved one after the other with his nodachi.

He is a shinobi.

Killing is his job.

Not far from him, Konan ducked beneath another attack by some random Oto-nin and opened the palm of her right hand which had several origami birds, that immediately came to life and flew straight at the nearest Oto-nins, and said origami birds immediately transformed into kunais which imbedded themselves into the heads of those Oto-nins which killed them instantly.

Konan panted heavily as she pulled the frightened princess behind her as she did so, glancing left and right quickly. There seems to be no end to the Oto-nins who were barging into the palace like bees to honey. Does this mean that their defenses have been completely penetrated?

This isn't good.

Konan took in a sharp breath as she saw Orochimaru walking into the audience chamber in his full glory, a sick smile on his face. Jiraiya and Tsunade narrowed their eyes as they saw the leader of the Oto Kingdom, and both got to their feet.

"Orochimaru…"

"It's been awhile," said Orochimaru. "I told you that Fire Kingdom will be mine one day."

"You'll never get it," said Tsunade dangerously. "Our people will stop you."

"Well, _my _people seemed to be creaming yours fairly easily so far," taunted Orochimaru, and Tsunade growled. "But enough about that. I'm fairly interested in a certain ninja of yours…that redhead Captain of your shinobi forces…"

The Akatsuki, Jiraiya, and Tsunade froze in fear. It couldn't be… He couldn't have figured it out… Meanwhile, Itachi was looking from one to the other, wondering what the hell their problem was.

"Namikaze Shiki is her name, I hear." Orochimaru grinned at their pale faces. "But before that, it seems like there are several insects here that needed to be cleaned out." He snapped his fingers.

Kisame nearly groaned as he saw another wave of Oto-nins barged into the audience chamber of the palace, which is where they are currently are now. There seems to be no end to these insects! And what makes it worse is that _Orochimaru _of all people is actually present in front of them!

"Where the hell is Deidara when you need him?!"

"KATSU!"

BOOM!

Everyone present turned sharply at the sound of that loud explosion which took out nearly all of the Oto-nins currently present within the audience chamber, and even the front doors of the audience chamber were blown to smithereens, not that anyone cared as it could easily be fixed.

And when the smoke of the explosion died away, the eyes of everyone present widened in both surprise and shock to see a certain blonde Akatsuki standing at the entrance of the audience chamber where ebony double doors were once there, panting heavily with the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand placed together. A certain redhead was standing beside him as well, a bloodstained kunai in one hand, also breathing heavily.

"Deidara-sempai?!" Tobi nearly shouted. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Someone called, didn't they?" Deidara called out irritably.

"That's not the point here!" Sasori snapped, losing his temper with his partner. "Why did you bring her here?!"

"She wanted to come here!" Deidara snapped back defensively. "She refused to listen to me! We took out waves of Oto-nins on the way here! What the hell happened?! How could our defenses have been penetrated so easily?!"

"I should know that?!"

Meanwhile, Namikaze Shiki was eyeing a certain leader of the Sound Kingdom solemnly with much anger and hatred in her eyes. "Orochimaru…"

The sick smile on Orochimaru's face widened if it's even possible. Itachi can't bring it in himself to speak, as he can't help feeling that the mystery surrounding Shiki might very well be unveiled today as long as he remains quiet.

"I never expect to see you here…'Your Highness'," said Orochimaru mockingly; giving a low bow tauntingly to Shiki whose eyes flashed murder at this action.

Itachi's eyes widened a slight fraction. _Your Highness?_

"Orochimaru…" Shiki growled low in her throat, clenching the kunai in her right hand so tightly that the kunai looked close to be breaking in half. "You've gone mad. I've seen the streets. You actually did what you did to your own subordinates? That's taking it too far!"

Orochimaru shrugged. "They're just mere pawns," he sneered. "Pawns are meant to be discarded when they are no longer of any use."

Konan narrowed her eyes. "Are they just mere pawns to you?" she hissed. "Your subordinates looked up to you for a reason that I can't comprehend. And you actually betrayed their trust. Have you sunk that low, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru's eyes flashed murder, showing that he's still capable of emotion. "Don't talk to me about trust when your fucking kingdom betrayed _me _and_ my family _first!" He roared, his hair nearly flying up around his face. "For the past fifty years, I've plotted and plotted…waiting for the day when I could have my revenge… But then when I found out that the Akatsuki – the elite shinobi team of the Whirlpool Kingdom as well as the princess of Whirlpool still lives, I've decided. I won't rest until every last member of the Whirlpool Kingdom is dead!"

Itachi can only stare. _'Whirlpool? What has the Whirlpool Kingdom got to do with Shiki?'_

"You're the heiress to the throne as well as the royal line of the Whirlpool Kingdom!" Orochimaru turned towards Shiki, a sneer curling on his face. "Namikaze Shiki!" Itachi's eyes widened in shock. "I really should have guessed when I saw you at Wind Kingdom all those months back. I just didn't manage to put together all the pieces. You…really looked like your mother. I can't believe that I've missed it."

"Enough talk," said Shiki coldly, stepping forward. "You've done too much. Originally, I _was _thinking of doing something to atone for the sins that my kingdom has done to you. As the princess of Whirlpool, I have a duty to put things right. But what you've done…is bordering on insanity. You're mad."

"Mad, am I?" said Orochimaru with an insane chuckle.

Everyone in the audience chamber can't seem to find it in themselves to move. Somehow, the aura and power surrounding Shiki is kind of different, Itachi thought to himself. Is this…the aura of a princess? He had sometimes felt this way around the princess and prince when he was guarding them back at Wind Kingdom, but this power and aura that he's currently feeling…

"If I am crazy as you've said I am, then it is but a by-product of your ancestors!" Orochimaru growled. "Your kingdom destroyed my family! All we wanted is a home to call our own! We didn't do anything! We just wanted to be left in peace! Whirlpool dragged us into a war that we didn't want anything to do with, and you killed my family for that!"

The Akatsuki looked guilt-stricken at this, and Shiki had a flash of pity flashing across her eyes for a split second before it was gone. "Maybe you should get your eyes checked," said Shiki coldly. "I am sorry for your loss, but there are others who have suffered worse than you did, and yet I don't see them going around trying to burn down the world. War does that to people. People lose their loved ones in war. You just had it a tad bit worse than the average person. Furthermore, the ones who have betrayed your family isn't my parents, and it most definitely isn't the Akatsuki or even me. That happened over fifty years ago…even before the time of my _grandparents. _Are you so consumed by hatred that you'll willingly see me as the people who have caused the demise of your clan?"

"Shut up!" Orochimaru roared, his chakra flying around him. "I'll make you pay! You're the heiress to the throne of the Whirlpool Kingdom! You're the princess of Whirlpool! I'll make you pay! Blood can only be washed away by blood! You cannot hide from it, as this is your destiny! This is your destiny…when you are born as the princess of the Whirlpool Kingdom!"

Shiki's eyes have a pained look in them before she fixed a cold look on Orochimaru again. "I guess there's no helping it then," she muttered before taking one step forward, and her right hand glowed blue with chakra. "Tell me, Orochimaru. You aren't afraid of the dark, are you?"

"What?"

And the next moment, Orochimaru was consumed by darkness.

**

* * *

**_Outside Fire Palace  
__Fire Kingdom_

"That makes it fifty six!" Haku proclaimed as she wiped the sweat from her brow, having just slain another one of those Oto-nins.

Gaara grunted as he killed another six Oto-nins in his Desert Funeral attack, not even flinching as their screams echoed over the grounds, and turned back towards Haku. "We're handling ourselves alright so far, but their numbers aren't dwindling in the slightest." He informed Haku. "We're taking too much damage here. And if my guess is right, those guys are just the cannon fodder. We're humans after all. Sooner or later, we're going to tire out, and even as good as we are, if their numbers are ten times that of ours, we're going to lose."

Haku frowned. "I know that," she said. "But drawing out time is all that we can do now."

She turned towards the direction of the palace, a frown on her face.

'_I could have sworn that I sensed Shiki's presence in there a moment ago.'_

**

* * *

**_Audience Chamber, Fire Palace  
__Fire Kingdom_

Itachi blinked as less than ten minutes later, the darkness dome surrounding Shiki and Orochimaru fell away which revealed both of them currently on their knees, both panting heavily. Shiki had one hand on the ground before her, panting heavily, whilst Orochimaru had several grievous cuts and wounds on his body. All in all, the man looked half-dead.

"What…is that?" Orochimaru grunted. "My records…never stated anything about this!"

"Of course not." Shiki panted. "Do you think that I'm stupid enough to use that technique as and when I like? If you aren't aware of something, let me fill you in. The heirs to the throne of the Whirlpool Kingdom each have a different power from their predecessors. We of Whirlpool control nature itself. My mother has the ability to move the skies and seas. Unfortunately, I don't have her ability. My ability is darkness itself. I control the portals of darkness. It doesn't matter how good your techniques are if you can't even hit me with that in the darkness over which I domain over."

Shiki got to her feet, panting heavily. _'Damn it… I knew it. I've used up too much chakra especially after having just recovered from losing my sight. But this is my chance! I have to kill him here!'_

And as Shiki was less than five steps away from Orochimaru, there was a silver and black blur that blurred past Shiki, and before she could even react, she felt a sharp pain in her lower ribcage, and she let out a small cry before collapsing to the ground, blood spurting out from the wound.

The eyes of everyone present went wide immediately, and Itachi was the first one to Shiki's side, cradling her in her arms, and covering the wound with his hand. "Shiki!" He called out urgently. "Oi! Don't fall asleep! Shiki!"

"You bastard! What did you do to the princess?!" Deidara roared, turning towards Orochimaru who was currently being supported by a man whom he recognized as Kaguya Kimimaro. The rest of Akatsuki have surrounded Shiki in a semi-circle.

Orochimaru chuckled weakly because of severe blood loss and because of his grievous wounds. "I admit that I've underestimated her," he said. "I didn't expect for her to be this powerful. The poison that Kimimaro had attacked her with…it's one of Kabuto's inventions. It'll induce her into a cold coma immediately after the poison attacked her bloodstream, and within 48 hours, _she will die!_ There is no cure to it as it attacks the mind directly. I'll love to see if the Akatsuki can save their beloved princess!" And he chuckled evilly as Kimimaro and Orochimaru both began sinking into the ground before disappearing.

Deidara growled low in his throat, glaring at the spot where Orochimaru had just disappeared. _'He escaped again!'_

"Shiki!" Itachi called out urgently, shaking her a little in his arms. "Oi! Don't fall asleep!"

"Hime-sama!"

Konan was by Shiki's side in an instant, running a diagnostic scan quickly before she looked up to meet the eyes of her teammates, her eyes wide and full of horror. "I can't get an accurate reading! Her body is shutting down!"

"What?" Sasori looked from Konan to Shiki in horror. "Is it the poison? Is what Orochimaru said true?"

"Shiki!"

Shiki could hear the sounds of her surroundings growing dimmer, and her eyes are growing heavier. She just wanted to sleep…just wanted to rest.

'_I'm tired… Let me rest, Itachi…'_

"Shiki! Don't go to sleep!"

And her eyes slid shut.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Hospital  
__Fire Kingdom_

Six hours after the invasion had Fire Kingdom seeing some really horrible cleaning up.

After Orochimaru had departed, the Oto-nins didn't waste time around and had promptly left. A few weren't so fast, and were captured by Sakura, Ino, Neji's team as well as Shino's team. Those few ninjas have delivered an early birthday present to Morino Ibiki, Ino's teacher in the interrogation department of the Royal Guard – who was beyond happy to have some new 'toys' to play with.

All ninjas were currently doing the cleaning up and fixing of all the buildings that have gotten damaged in the invasion, but the Akatsuki along with one Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Shiki were currently in a private room in the hospital of Fire Kingdom.

None of Shiki's friends were told about her current state for obvious reasons, and Itachi's mind was too full of worry to even bother about the fact that his girlfriend is the princess of the Whirlpool Kingdom, though inwardly, he was kicking himself for not having realised that sooner when all the signs were there.

"Psychological?" Itachi asked, sitting by Shiki's bedside and looking up at Konan.

Konan nodded. "That Kabuto kid that Orochimaru has with him…he's a medical genius," she said. "Give him a few years, and he'll soon surpass me in the medical field. Fairly impressive for someone who has had to learn the medic arts on his own. The poison doesn't attack the physical body. It attacks the mind. I've never seen a poison like that before in my life, and I have no idea whatsoever how to counter it."

Sasori frowned. "But if Orochimaru's words can be trusted, if we don't somehow find a way to quickly wake the princess up from her cold coma, she'll die in two days," he said, and Itachi glared at him.

Tobi sighed. "It irks me, but I don't think that Orochimaru is lying," he said. "He had obviously thought that there is no hope for the princess."

"Is there no other way to save her?!" Itachi was getting desperate.

Konan exchanged looks with her teammates before sighing and turning towards Itachi. "There is one," she said. "It's a fairly old 'mind-walker' technique that the Whirlpool Kingdom of the past uses for mind therapy when a patient sleeps. We call it 'Dive'."

"Dive?"

"That's right," said Kisame with a nod. "It's a fairly old technique used to treat patients who are severely injured in the mind in the Whirlpool Kingdom. And it is also used as a form of mind therapy. All field medics or combat medics in the Whirlpool Kingdom are taught the basics of Dive Therapy to allow two people to Dive, despite the practice not being done now because of privacy purposes. And obviously, Konan knew how to allow two people to Dive. To 'Dive', you need three things: the Diver, the person that you're going to Dive in, and a Dive Therapist which is Konan here."

Tobi sighed, looking at Itachi. "Whirlpool law usually forbid anyone from Diving into a member of the royal family because of privacy issues," he explained to the confused looking Uchiha. "But as it stands, we have no other choice if we want to save the princess's life. And as promised, we'll explain everything to you once she wakes up. It isn't our place to tell you what had happened in the princess's life up to now."

Itachi nodded dumbly.

Konan stepped up to Itachi before sitting by Shiki's bedside and taking one of her hands into her right hand, cringing slightly at how cold it is, comparing it to the body of a corpse, and the blue haired medic-nin took one of Itachi's hands into her left hand, looking into the eyes of the Uchiha.

"Listen to me," said Konan sternly, and Itachi paid rapt attention. "No one has ever Dived into the princess before. It's for privacy issues, and secondly, the princess is a very private person. When you Dive into her, you'll be seeing all her secrets and her thoughts. Even the most private ones. That's exactly why the king and queen discourage Dive Therapy in the Whirlpool Kingdom as it's like an invasion of privacy. Like you and your brother, the princess has several horrors in her past that most people can only imagine. And with that poison that Orochimaru had hit her with…" Konan sighed. "Her state of mind won't be very pleasant. And if what I've seen of the princess is anything to go by, her Mind Guardian won't be very forthcoming with you either."

"Mind Guardian?"

"The guardian that protects the mind of an individual," answered Kisame. "Everyone has one. It's their 'inner voice' so as to speak."

"To help the princess, you have to get to the core of her soul," said Konan, explaining to Itachi just what he's required to do once he's in Shiki's mind. "But it won't be easy. If I know the princess, she has probably put up several barriers in her mind to guard against intruders. And if you die in there, you'll die for real out here. Will you still Dive into her?"

Itachi looked Konan into the eye and nodded.

Konan sighed and nodded. "Alright," she said before her hands glowed blue. "Listen, I can only link you to the princess's mind. From then on, you're on your own."

Itachi nodded to show that he understood before he felt a tugging sensation within his chest, like something was pulling at his soul.

"DIVE!"

**

* * *

**Itachi groaned as he sat up, holding his head, feeling like several sledgehammers have just had their way with him, feeling a throbbing headache.

"Oh, my head…" Itachi nearly groaned. "Where am I?" He wondered, dusting himself off as he got to his feet. "And where is this? Is this Shiki's mind?"

And as he looked up and around him, Itachi's eyes widened at what he could see…


	18. Mind Dive

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Mind Dive**

Clear blue skies and puffy white clouds.

That was the first thing that had greeted Itachi's eyes when he looked skywards, and when he actually looked around him, the first thing that he saw is what seems to be a meadow, with fresh grass just growing to the length of his ankle, and the sweet scent of the grass filled his nostrils.

It was like he'd just stepped out into a paradise.

Is this really Shiki's mind?

_Clink._

Itachi froze as the cold metal steel of a blade touches his neck, and he turned slightly only to see a handsome man who looked to be in his early twenties or so, wearing a snow white battle kimono with light green leaf imprints on it, with silver hair that just brushes against his shoulders, and cold blue eyes. A pair of white bangles also hung from around his wrists.

"W-Who are you?" Itachi asked weakly, just half a second away from getting his head lobbed off his shoulders.

The man frowned. "That is my question," he said coldly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Itachi. Uchiha Itachi."

The man's eyes narrowed before he withdrew his sword and placed it back into the sheathe on his back. "You're the one that the princess likes," he stated. "I'm Salacia."

"Princess?" Itachi blinked. "So it's true then. She really _is _the princess of the Whirlpool Kingdom. Konan-san told me so, but I didn't really believe her."

Salacia snorted. "Well, it isn't that surprising," he said. "For the princess's own safety, her identity has to be kept secret, even from her own friends. Whirlpool has enemies everywhere. As for who I am, I am the Mind Guardian here – the protector of the princess's mind. My duty here is to safeguard her mind and her secrets from intruders like you." He glared at Itachi.

Itachi nearly winced. "Hey, it isn't like I _wanted_ to intrude her mind," he protested. "I have no choice but to do it in order to save her. If she doesn't wake up in two days, she'll die from the poison!"

Salacia looked at Itachi with a blank look that almost made him wince. That look is so much like the one that he wore on several occasions that it is almost scary. "Be that as it may, but the princess had never liked intruders in her mind," he stated. "She can usually kick the intruders out herself, but this time, not even I knew where she had gone to in her mind. And you are the one person that she doesn't want to see her thoughts."

Itachi can only stare. "W-What do you mean?" he asked.

Salacia sighed. "I feel sorry for the princess," he muttered below his breath. "Falling for a guy like him." Itachi twitched as he could hear every word. "Of all the people in the world, her friends and the guards that she had as a child combined, _you _are the only person that the princess doesn't want in here!" Salacia eyed Itachi with a stern look that is reminiscent of that of Itachi's teacher when he was a trainee. "I understand that it isn't exactly your choice as it is the only way to save her, but still…" Salacia sighed. "This is the princess's mind." He stretched out his right arm to show the vast meadow that they are both standing in. "And since this is her mind, she is in here somewhere too."

Itachi's eyes widened. In here somewhere too? Meaning, Shiki herself is in her own mind? How is that even possible?

"Don't ask me," said Salacia, seeming as if he had just read Itachi's mind. "But sometimes, when she is having a particularly bad day, she often retreats into her mind. I guess you can call it 'dreams'. Everyone does that at times."

Itachi then suddenly remembered what he is here for, and grabbed the sleeve of Salacia's kimono. "Please! Tell me! What must I do to save Shiki?"

Salacia calmly pried the fingers of Itachi from the sleeve of his kimono before looking at him in the eye. "Can you sense anything different in here from the time when you've just entered the princess's mind?"

Itachi blinked before he frowned slightly. Is it his imagination, or has the temperature dropped several degrees? It definitely seems colder than before.

"It seems…a little colder than before," said Itachi with a frown, and Salacia nodded.

"Her mind…is falling apart." Salacia admitted. "Not even I knew where the princess has taken refuge in, as it is taking me all my power to just keep her mind intact long enough for her or for someone to help stabilise it."

Itachi nodded slowly. "What must I do?" he asked.

Salacia eyed Itachi before sighing. "I don't really like the idea of it as it goes against all that I do as a Mind Guardian, but I'm going to have to take you to the core of her soul," he said. "That's the best place where she'll be in. But as we make our way there, you'll be seeing several of the princess's memories." He eyed Itachi carefully. "Some of her most important memories as well as the most sensitive ones. You'll see them all. That's exactly why you are the one person that the princess doesn't want in here."

Itachi nodded dumbly before Salacia sighed. "Follow me," he said.

**XXXXXX**

Itachi has no idea how long he had followed Salacia for, but as they were walking up what seems to be a mountain or cliff of some sort, he decided to ask Salacia something that had been bugging him for some time now.

"Salacia." In front of Itachi, Salacia tilted his head slightly to show that he's listening. "Back then, why did Orochimaru went after the Whirlpool Kingdom?"

Salacia sighed. "Orochimaru has some bad blood and issues with the Whirlpool Kingdom of old. It is way back when he was but a mere child, and the ruling king and queen then were the princess's grandparents," he stated. "It is during the last war. I'm sure that you would have learnt of it during your history lessons."

Itachi nodded.

"There is a deeper reason to it than just vengeance for Orochimaru. The Whirlpool Kingdom is an amazingly powerful kingdom. Even the members of the royal family of Whirlpool are said to be pretty powerful themselves. They are each powerful spiritually and magically. As such, that is the reason why the Whirlpool Kingdom is chosen to be the place to seal away the dragon of darkness – something that is of prominence in your history books, I'm sure."

Itachi nodded. He had learned that part in history.

"For generation after generation, the heirs to the throne of the Whirlpool Kingdom have the responsibility to keep the dragon demon sealed away for eternity. If the demon awakens…it will be the end of the world."

Itachi frowned. "But with Whirlpool Kingdom in the state that it is in now…what will happen to the dragon demon?" he asked.

Salacia glanced at Itachi but didn't reply. And Itachi never had a chance to pursue his question as well, especially since they've arrived before what seemed to be a pretty large cavern, only that a strange door was blocking the entrance of it.

The door was a deep black colour, without any door handles or door knobs. A strange red symbol was set in the middle of the door, almost covering the entire door. It looks oddly like a mixture of a symbol of a whirlpool and the Celtic symbol that represents the wind. And the symbol was glowing red, seeming to pulse every now and then.

"Here we are," said Salacia solemnly as he stood before the door. Itachi stared at the door with something akin to awe in his eyes. The Mind Guardian then turned towards Itachi. "This is the Memory Door. This door will lead you to the core of the princess's soul. But the deeper that you go in, you'll see the memories that the princess wishes to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Some of the memories that you'll see are memories that even she doesn't wish to remember." Salacia eyed Itachi with a critical look. "You'll probably see her in an entirely different light after this. Despite all that, would you still wish to go through with it?"

Itachi bit on his lower lip. View Shiki in an entirely different light? What does that mean?

Salacia then frowned and tilted Itachi's chin up with one finger, forcing the Uchiha to turn around to face him. "You will gather your courage, boy," said Salacia sternly. "Or leave her to someone more worthy." He frowned. "I will ask again. Do you still wish to go through with this entire process to get the princess back? Or will you just leave her to die?"

The memories of Itachi's time with Shiki soon came rising to the surface of his mind. The time when she had just told him that she loved him, and that had made him feel like he is the luckiest man alive.

_You're an idiot, Uchiha Itachi. __I've fallen for you, Uchiha Itachi, from the very first moment when I saw you in Wind Kingdom four years ago. You're the only man who had ever made me feel this way._

Itachi faced Salacia with a determined look. "I will go through with it," he said firmly. "It doesn't matter what I see and what had happened in her past. She is still the same girl that I've first met all those years ago in Wind Kingdom when she came to escort the prince from Fire Kingdom. She is still the same girl whom I love more than life itself."

Salacia eyed Itachi for several moments with a strange expression on his face before he sighed. "Well, I for one, hope that you wouldn't change your mind with what you're about to see from here on out," he said. "We're going in."

Salacia then pressed one hand against the door. The red symbol of the door glowed brightly before the light enveloped the entire door which caused Itachi to shield his eyes from the entire light onslaught. And when the light died away, Itachi saw that the door had vanished.

Salacia glanced at Itachi. "Let's go in," he said, and Itachi nodded before following Salacia in.

**XXXXXX**

Itachi can only stare as the first thing that he saw is what seems to be the audience chamber of a palace, yet he knew that it isn't the audience chamber of the palace in Fire Kingdom, or Wind Kingdom even.

"We're going to have to start from the princess's earliest childhood memories," said Salacia quietly. "It is the only way to get to the core of her soul."

Itachi nodded dumbly before he blinked as the memory images came into view. He saw a relatively young looking man with spiky orange-red hair wearing the attire of the elites of the Whirlpool Kingdom. A handsome-looking blonde man wearing royal robes of black and gold – more benefitting that of a warrior, was standing before him.

"Those two are…"

"The blonde is the princess's father," said Salacia. "Namikaze Minato. And the other is Nagato, the captain of the Akatsuki – the elite forces of the Whirlpool Kingdom."

A small figure peeked out from behind Minato's legs just then, and Itachi felt his breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of a five-year-old version of Shiki. She is wearing a relatively expensive looking white silk kimono with pink flower imprints on it, and a single golden earring with a pendant of the Whirlpool's symbol hanging from it hung from her left ear. A curious look was in her eyes as she looked at the Nagato guy as she clutched at her father's hand, smiling shyly at the man.

Nagato can't help but smile back, still kneeling with one knee on the ground as is customary for all shinobis in the presence of their king or queen, or even the princess. His right hand was crossed across his chest, saluting the king and princess of Whirlpool both.

"So that is that then," said Namikaze Minato with a smile, looking at his daughter and Nagato. "From this day forth, you'll be the new captain of the Akatsuki forces. Konan will be your second-in-command. And as you know, the Akatsuki forces had always been the ones guarding my daughter. There will be times when you might have to guard her, even if she is in the palace grounds."

Nagato inclined his head. "It will be my pleasure, sire."

Salacia tugged on Itachi's hand just then, and pointed towards the side where a white door had seemingly materialised out of nowhere, much to Itachi's surprise. The two then walked towards the door, but Salacia never opened it as he faced Itachi.

"The king is the prince from the destroyed Gale Kingdom," he stated, seemingly having read Itachi's mind. "The princess's mother is the heiress of the throne of Whirlpool Kingdom, Uzumaki Kushina. Thus, the princess is the First Princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool. She is the heir to the throne of Whirlpool."

Itachi nodded dumbly before Salacia opened the door, and both stepped through it.

**

* * *

**The scene that they have stepped in this time seems to be the royal garden of the Whirlpool Kingdom, and even Itachi can't help but look around in awe. Several fruit trees and flower trees grew around the garden, and there is even a relatively large pond where several ducks were squawking within, fighting over who gets to have the largest fish.

Itachi caught sight of a five-year-old Shiki standing on her tiptoes and trying to reach for a strange looking fruit growing on the tree that she is reaching for.

Nagato walked up from behind her and carried her so that she can reach the fruit which she promptly plucked off the tree, and Nagato then set her down onto the ground. Shiki beamed up at Nagato, holding the strange looking fruit that is shaped like an apple in her hand.

"Thank you," she said in a child-like high voice.

Nagato smiled at her and knelt down to her eye level. "How about we go and eat it under this tree?" he suggested, and Shiki smiled and nodded happily.

"Nagato? Did you find the princess?" asked a soft feminine voice, and a blue haired woman whom Itachi recognised as a younger looking Konan walked up to Nagato, also dressed in the same attire that Nagato wore, only that she wore shorts instead of pants.

"Konan." Nagato nodded to his friend and vice-captain.

"Konan!" Shiki was by the woman's side in an instant, pulling at her hands. "Come sit with us!"

Konan laughed. "Hai hai," she said. She then noticed the fruit in Shiki's hand as the three of them sat within the shade of the three, and a smile broke out on her face. "A Dumb Apple? That sure brings back memories."

Shiki looked at Konan with curious eyes. "Does Dumb Apples grow in your village as well? Where you grew up in?"

Konan and Nagato exchanged amused looks. "Well, you can say that," said Nagato with a cough. "The people of our village have another name for them. They called these apples the White Banora. Once a year, you could hand pick them off the White Banora trees in our village. The people of our village are relatively fond of them, and they fondly named them the Dumb Apple. But because they are so rare out here in the city, prices are quite ridiculous whenever we went into towns to get a few. Back when we were kids, Konan, I and Yahiko used to sneak into the farms that grew them to take a couple to eat."

Shiki looked with a reproaching look at Nagato. "Stealing is wrong."

Nagato looked embarrassed at this, and Konan laughed. "Well, we were poor then," he said defensively, and Shiki laughed, her laughter sounding like tinkling bells to everyone who had heard her.

"Sure. Say whatever you like."

Konan and Nagato then laughed before Konan smiled when she spied a small figure hiding behind a tree, and turned towards Shiki. "Princess, seems like he is here."

Shiki smiled before getting up and running towards the small figure that Itachi can't seem to make out clearly. He never did get the chance to anyway, as Salacia tapped him on his shoulder and led him to where a green door had materialised before stepping through it.

**

* * *

**Itachi thought that he had stepped out onto a scene of a warzone.

The alarms of Whirlpool Kingdom were nearly all going off at the same time, and the various shinobis and guards of the Whirlpool Kingdom were busy fending off all their attackers. Nagato had Shiki in his arms as he ran though the palace of Whirlpool Kingdom.

Currently, all of Whirlpool Kingdom was in flames, including the palace itself, and both the king and the queen were fighting off their attackers as well when Nagato entered the audience chamber of the palace with Shiki safely huddled in his arms where the majority of the rest of the Akatsuki was, alongside with a number of Whirlpool Kingdom's shinobis where they were busy fighting off their attackers.

Several bodies laid on the ground – several of them of the enemy's and a number were that of ninjas from Whirlpool Kingdom as well. As Nagato entered the audience chamber, he nearly yelped in fright as he was nearly cleaved in half by an Oto shinobi, and said shinobi got himself cleaved in half by Hoshigaki Kisame.

The shark-like man was panting heavily, tears and cuts visible on his coat, and blood was coating most of his clothes and his sword.

"Kisame!" Nagato gasped as the five-year-old princess whimpered in his hold, burying her face into his neck. The princess was frightened out of her wits, and Nagato couldn't blame her.

"Nagato, where have you been?!" An angry yell pierced through the air before three shinobis coming towards Nagato was cleaved in half by paper birds, and Konan, Nagato's childhood friend and the vice-captain of the Akatsuki was standing there.

"What the…?" Itachi can only stare.

"This is on the day when Whirlpool Kingdom was destroyed," said Salacia solemnly. "From this point on, all the memories that you'll be seeing are ones that the princess wish to keep hidden from the rest of the world."

Itachi nodded before turning towards the scene of the memory.

"I was protecting the princess!" Nagato snapped. "What's the situation like?"

"Not good," said Kisame, huddling in front of Nagato with Konan and Sasori, forming a protective barrier around their captain and the princess. "They've completely penetrated our defences. They've took us completely by surprise, and their forces are twice the number of ours, and not to mention that demons are included in their forces."

Konan had an angry scowl on her beautiful face as she formed some throwing knives out of paper with her ability. "Where the hell could have Orochimaru found such soldiers?!" She nearly demanded as she threw the throwing knives straight at the incoming shinobis, killing them instantly. "And the demons aren't known to be very friendly with the humans. And not to mention that majority of those demons are the Progenitor Wolves!"

Itachi froze. _Progenitor Wolves? _Those fucking demons? No wonder Whirlpool Kingdom had fallen to Oto back then! Those demons are among the most difficult to kill, out of the entire demon race!

And apparently, Nagato had that same idea as well, as he stared at Konan as if she had just sprouted two new heads. "The Progenitor Wolves?!" Nagato nearly shouted. "Those damned beasts are extremely hard to kill even with jutsus, and they're practically immortal and immune to our techniques!"

"Precisely the reason why they were chosen, I think," said Sasori grimly. "Only holy magic can take them down, and a number of the priestesses have already fallen against them. But at least majority of those vile beasts are gone now."

"Come on, let's get the princess to the king and queen," said Kisame before he took the lead by leading the group across the audience chamber to where the king and queen are.

This is actually the first time that Itachi had seen the queen of the Whirlpool Kingdom, Uzumaki Kushina in person, despite this being a memory.

Like with nearly all royal kingdoms, the queen was dressed in pristine royal robes of blue and silver with a golden circlet on her forehead with a royal blue gem set in the middle of it – the royal colours of the Whirlpool Kingdom. Namikaze Minato was standing beside her. And both were fighting off their attackers, with a number of their ninjas assisting their king and queen, ready to give their lives up if necessary, like so many before them.

"Your Majesties!" Deidara called, blowing up another shinobi with one of his specially made bombs and cleaving another shinobi in half behind him with his sword, forming a protective shield around both the king and queen with the remaining members of the Akatsuki who weren't protecting the princess – Zetsu and Tobi. "Come on! We have to get you out of here!"

"No," said Kushina with a bittersweet smile, turning towards her shinobis. "Whirlpool Kingdom is my home. It is where I was born and it is where I will die."

"But—"

"I know what Orochimaru is after," said Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina. "And I can't let him have it." She then looked towards Nagato's direction and smiled to see her precious daughter nestled safely in his arms. "Shiki."

Shiki looked up at the sound of her mother's voice, and the queen smiled as she approached Nagato and took Shiki in her arms, hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry," said Kushina before releasing the hug. "You have to get out of here. Live on."

Shiki stared at her mother. "You come along too," said the princess, tugging on her mother's sleeve.

Kushina smiled. "I'm afraid not, sweetheart," said the queen. "Your father and I have something more important to do. Like protecting Whirlpool Kingdom's secrets. I know what Orochimaru wants, and I won't let him have it! Even if I have to destroy all of Whirlpool Kingdom!"

The Akatsuki stared at their queen as the king came by his wife's side. Namikaze Minato sighed. "Alright, listen to me," he said. "I need you guys to stay alive. Someone from the Whirlpool Kingdom needs to stay alive in order to protect Shiki and the seal!"

Itachi blinked in confusion. _'What seal?'_

Nearly all colour drained from the faces of the Akatsuki. Konan was the first one to break the silence, and even her voice doesn't quite sound like her own. "You mean…?" The king nodded. "But it's impossible! Lady Miroku of the Demon Kingdom sealed the beast away when she was still a princess, didn't she?!"

"Yes," said Kushina with a sigh. "But that's all she could do. This is the key to it's lair." And she showed the surrounding shinobis a blue-green gem with a swirl within it. "This is what Orochimaru is after. He mustn't release it! That's why…" Kushina slipped the gem into Shiki's pocket, and the girl stared at her mother.

"Mommy?"

Kushina smiled before giving Shiki to Nagato. "Nagato, this is my final order to you as your queen," she said. "Take Shiki and hide her somewhere where the Whirlpool's enemies wouldn't find her…where _Orochimaru_wouldn't find her!"

"Your Majesty…" Nagato began. "I…"

Minato turned towards Nagato. "Nagato, I've never once doubted your loyalty to us and the Whirlpool Kingdom," he said. "You're one of our best ninjas, alongside the Akatsuki. This will be our final order to you: protect our daughter. You who have given your loyalty and swore an oath to protect the royal family till the day of your death, I now give you this order. Protect my daughter – the last remaining member of the line of the royal family of the Whirlpool Kingdom. The Akatsuki must stay alive, you especially!"

"Your Majesty…I…"

"Go!"

The scene then switched to what seemed to be a forest on the borders of the Whirlpool Kingdom.

Nagato was running through the woods on the borders of Whirlpool Kingdom with the rest of the Akatsuki, with Shiki safely nestled in his arms when there was a bright flash of light emanating from the palace, and all of Akatsuki turned to see a dome-like barrier surrounding the palace, and Konan gasped.

"That's…the barrier spell," she said. "The queen and king… It can't be…"

"There they are!"

"Can't those bastards give up?!" Sasori nearly growled. "Nagato, take the princess and go on ahead! We'll catch up later!"

"Okay!"

Salacia grabbed Itachi's arm just then, and had to practically drag him towards where a red door stood waiting. And Itachi didn't know why, but he felt nervous as he stood before the door.

Salacia sighed. "I have no idea why the door is this colour as well," he said. "This is probably the last door before you get to the core of the princess's soul."

Itachi nodded before Salacia opened the door, and both stepped through it.

And the moment that the door closed behind them, images started running through before Itachi's eyes – almost like a movie on fast rewind.

He first saw a younger version of himself on the night of the massacre when nearly his entire family was killed by Oto's hands, kneeling by the side of some Uchiha guard, rubbing his fingers against the clothes of the dead body.

"They don't seem to have been dead long."Itachi heard his younger version say to a younger Sasuke and Shiki. "The culprit must still be here somewhere. Sasuke—"

He then saw Shiki facing some Oto-nin on the night of the massacre, cornering said nin in a corner of the Uchiha compound, a cold look on her face as she ran her sword through his body, killing him instantly.

The scene started flashing through once more, and Itachi saw a different one this time. Shiki was facing a strangely familiar Oto-nin with a strange look on her face.

"Who are you?"she asked.

"The name is ---" said the mystery boy.

And again, the scene started flashing past once more. Itachi then saw what seemed to be the living room of a house, and the members of the Akatsuki minus Nagato, along with Shiki were all having what seems to be a serious discussion. And there are times when it changed to that of a younger looking Shiki sitting by the hospital bedside of a severely wounded man. Both these scenes started flickering back and forth until it gave Itachi a headache.

But unlike before, their voices seemed almost distorted, and he couldn't hear their voices clearly.

"—_he_ _told me everything…the…attack on the Whirlpool Kingdom…the Akatsuki…the king and queen…even the fact that you're…the princess of Whirlpool__—"_

"—_gave __me the shock of my life when he turned up in that terrible thunderstorm…covered in blood from head to toe…with you in his arms…and told me to keep you safe__—"_

"—_t__he attack…was carried out by…Oto…but Orochimaru…never turned up__—"_

"—_a war came close to breaking out…a war between the humans and the demons—"_

"—_the king—" _

"—_sent a shinobi messenger into the mountains of Mount Terror where a particularly feared shinobi clan resides—"_

"—_no __kingdom wants them in their home—"_

"—_Whirlpool Kingdom as a whole…turned on them—"_

"—_they were __**betrayed—"**_

"—'_We don't need you anymore.' Whirlpool threw the clan out—"_

"—_like they're nothing more than trash…than garbage—"_

"—_that child's name…was Karigashi __**Orochimaru—"**_

'—_we betrayed his clan—'_

_**Stop. You're not supposed to see this!**_

The scene of the memory blanked out completely before Itachi found himself standing in total blackness with Salacia. Yet, he can still see his hands clearly, and he can still see Salacia clearly. The Mind Guardian had that bewildered look on his face as well, and Itachi recognised that voice earlier as Shiki's.

"Shiki?" Itachi called out. "Is that you?"

"Princess!" Salacia called out as well, worry in his tone. "Princess, it's me. I'm Salacia! Let us in, I beg of you. You have to wake up! You'll die if you don't!"

_**Salacia. You're my Mind Guardian. You're supposed to **__keep __**people **__out, __**not let them **__in!_

"I know that. Please forgive me," said Salacia apologetically. "But there is no other way, Princess! Your mind is on the verge of falling apart if I don't let him in! You'll die if you don't wake up soon! He's the only one that can get to you and help you to wake up! Princess! Please wake up!"

"Shiki!" Itachi called out, desperation in his voice. "Wake up! Everyone is waiting for you! Sasuke, Haku, Gaara, Hinata, Konan-san… Everyone! Even the prince and the princess are waiting! Let's go home together! Shiki!"

There was silence for several moments before Shiki's voice sounded once more.

…_**why must you come here, Itachi? You're the one person…the one and only person whom I don't want in here! What did you see? Since you've come to the last door now, you must have seen it then. The ugly truth of what we've done! That's right. We of Whirlpool made Orochimaru into what he is today! Everything…everything is all our fault! We're the real monsters!**_

"It has _nothing_ to do with you!" Itachi called out in desperation, fearful that he is losing Shiki fast. "You weren't even _born _when that had happened! It has nothing to do with you! And I didn't care what I had seen! It didn't matter to me! You're still Shiki to me! I don't see the princess of Whirlpool or even the Captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces! I only see Namikaze Shiki the person! Shiki, cone back to me!"

Itachi's voice had risen in volume the more that he spoke until he's almost deafening Salacia who is just standing right next to him. Itachi took one step forwards, pure desperation on his face as he had a sinking feeling that he's losing Shiki fast.

That…mustn't happen!

He couldn't even fashion a life without Shiki.

"Princess!" Salacia called out. "I know. I know what you are afraid of. I'm your Mind Guardian, remember? I hear and see everything that you see and hear, even your innermost thoughts and desires. I hear and see them all! I know how you feel about this boy here." Salacia glanced at Itachi. "As much as you think of him, he thinks of you. I can sense it. He isn't lying here! He hasn't changed his view of you. I didn't believe that he can walk through the Memory Door till the end without changing his opinion and view of you, whether for the better or for the worse. But he did. That proves his feelings for you are genuine! He didn't see you as the First Princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool. He didn't see you as the Captain of the shinobi forces of the Fire Kingdom! He didn't see you as something to be won like so many of the boys in the Fire Kingdom! He didn't see you as any of that! He saw you as you are! As Namikaze Shiki the person! That's why, Princess…please…come back to us!"

"Shiki!" Itachi called out with sheer desperation. "Please! Believe me! You are my life now! All I ask…all that I ask is that you never leave me again! Shiki! Please! Come back to me!"

There was silence after that before a sound of a bell tinkle echoed throughout this entire blackness, and as Itachi blinked, bright white light seemed to form before him, and when the light faded away, so did the blackness that he is now standing in. Itachi soon found himself standing in the meadow that he had found himself standing in earlier when he had first arrived in Shiki's mind, and the redhead herself is standing in front of him, wearing a small smile on her face.

Itachi blinked. "S-Shiki?" he muttered, taking one small tentative step forwards.

Shiki smiled and nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I guess…I just needed to hear those words. Before, I can never be too honest with you because of my status as the princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool. I can never let anyone know about that. Not even my friends. It had always haunted me…not being able to tell you the truth. And there is a part of me that worried that you might only be with me because of my status, not because for myself."

Itachi smiled. "You're silly," he said. "You should know me well enough by now."

Shiki smiled and nodded. "I'll see you when I wake up," she said. "Go. You have to leave now."

Itachi nodded before white light started surrounding him, and he soon vanished.

Shiki then turned towards Salacia and smiled. "Thank you, Salacia," she said. "For not letting him see that part of my memory in the Memory Door."

Salacia nodded. "It is your wish, Princess," he said with a small smile. "I am your Mind Guardian. I protect what needs to be protected from intruders. I know what he is to you, but in the end, he is still an intruder in here to me." He then took on a serious look. "But it is about time, isn't it?"

Shiki said nothing as she turned towards the lone sakura tree that had somehow appeared in the meadow that they were now standing in, looking at the two figures beneath the tree which is unmistakably that of a five-year-old version of herself and another raven-haired boy about a year or two older than her who is drawing with a sketchbook in his lap.

"I remember a few years ago when Ou-sama took me out of the capital city and the palace," said the boy, showing the memory Shiki what he had drawn in his sketchbook, gesturing wildly with his small arms. "He took me to see this giant White Banora tree at the Ice Meadow on the borders of the Whirlpool Kingdom." He gestured with his arms to give Shiki an idea of the tree's size. "That is the first time that I saw a White Banora tree, or even a Dumb Apple." He grinned at memory Shiki. "And that is the only place in all of Whirlpool Kingdom where you can find the sweetest Dumb Apples. Ou-sama said so."

Shiki smiled to herself. That is true, in a way. Dumb Apples or the White Banora is a delicacy to the people of Whirlpool. Once a year, there is a festival aptly named the White Banora festival where villages that grew White Banora trees send a basketful of White Banora fruits to the capital city of the Whirlpool Kingdom where everyone in the entire kingdom could enjoy the fruit. And the Dumb Apples from the Ice Meadow were always the sweetest and the juiciest.

"If I should ever die," said the boy, grinning at memory Shiki. "If I should ever die in the near future, I want to be buried at a place where you can see the ice flowers in Whirlpool Kingdom, and also the Dumb Apple trees. I want to be buried at the base of that tree in the Ice Meadow."

Memory Shiki looked confused. "What are you saying?" she asked.

The boy's light laughter lingered in the air before both of them disappeared.

Shiki sighed before turning towards Salacia. "Yeah," she said as an answer to his earlier question. "I have to bring it to an end soon." She turned and walked towards the white door that had materialised sometime back, one hand on the knob. "I'm going to have to bring it to an end soon." She whispered. "Isn't that right, Sai?"

And then, she was gone.


	19. Sai

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Sai**

Konan frowned as she faced the serious look of her princess.

It had been a week ever since Shiki had woken from her coma. And the moment that the redhead had woken up, it seemed like there is a never ending stream of work for her to do. From filling in paperwork to looking into the identities of the dead to strengthening the security of the capital city and the Fire Kingdom's borders…

It seemed like there is a never ending stream of work for Shiki to do.

On one hand, it had the instant effect to keep her busy so that she do not let her mind run wild because of Orochimaru and Oto. But on the other hand, the answers that Itachi wanted, he can't seem to get first hand from her.

And currently, both Konan and Shiki were currently in the library of the capital city of Fire Kingdom.

"That boy?" Konan voiced out, careful to keep her voice low as she ran her finger down the spines of the books in the bookshelf in front of her.

Shiki nodded, running her eyes down the book titles of the books shelved in front of her, yet she was not really seeing it at all.

Shiki sighed as she turned to face Konan. "If truth be told, I had almost forgotten about him until I had met him at Wind Kingdom all those years ago. Back then, I didn't remember who he was until I had witnessed my own memories." She smiled sadly. "To think that he is who he is now… Fate sure loves fucking with us. I didn't even think that he's still alive. I had assumed that he had died when Whirlpool was attacked all those years ago, and if not, he is probably imprisoned like the rest of them."

Konan nodded grimly. "Now that Orochimaru knew who you are…we definitely can't put off liberating Whirlpool any longer," she said. "Before, we couldn't move like we could, as Orochimaru didn't know that you're still alive, and thus, we couldn't liberate Whirlpool from the hands of that goddamn snake. But we definitely can't put it off any longer."

Shiki sighed. "As much as I would love to liberate Whirlpool from the hands of Oto, you know that we can't do it now," she said. "There are still too many uncertainties that we aren't aware of. If we just go charging in there blind, we're going to be biting off more than we could chew."

Konan sighed. "So we wait then?"

Shiki nodded. "Until we can get more information at least," she said. She sighed. "I have a mission with Isaribi later on. I'll try to get whatever information that I could get."

**XXXXXX**

_Lake  
Konoha, Fire Kingdom_

Meanwhile, at the lake where Itachi always frequented whenever he wants to be alone by himself at somewhere quiet, one Akasuna no Sasori was sitting beside him, skipping stones.

"War Princess?" Itachi frowned as he skipped a stone five times before the stone sunk down into the depths of the lake.

Sasori nodded solemnly. "I'm pretty sure that the princess wouldn't tell you about anything relating to Whirlpool and her own past," he explained. "It isn't that the princess doesn't trust you. It is that not even she could betray her own country by telling you the secrets of Whirlpool. She may be a ninja of the Fire Kingdom now, but she is still the princess of Whirlpool." The redhead then turned to face Itachi. "Konan-san told me to tell you about the princess and what she actually meant to Whirlpool. If truth be told, I don't think that you should be told as this is Whirlpool's problem. But you're already involved, and even if we don't like it, you have to be told."

Itachi nodded slowly.

"This is going to be a long story, so first, let me start by actually explaining what the Whirlpool Kingdom is," said Sasori. "You do know what Whirlpool is renowned for, don't you?"

Itachi nodded. "They are masters at swordsmanship and combat skills," he answered. That is something that every ninja in the world knew, as Whirlpool Kingdom is said to be the most powerful kingdom in all the elemental kingdoms. "Their cavalry and army is said to be second to none. And unlike most of the other kingdoms, Whirlpool doesn't stick to just ninjas for their army. They have priestesses and priests who are all remarkably skilled with holy magic as part of their cavalry."

Sasori nodded. "Seems like you did your homework," he stated. "That's true, that's what Whirlpool if renowned for. We are basically all-rounders in terms of combat. That's why no kingdom is foolish enough to try and attack us. As such, Whirlpool Kingdom is also known as the Kingdom of the Blade. The royal family, especially, are remarkably skilled with the blade. The reason why the demons look at Whirlpool with likeable eyes is mostly because of the princess. She has a way with the non-humans, particularly the demons."

"So _that's_ why the queen sent her on that mission to negotiate with the demons," said Itachi thoughtfully, and Sasori nodded.

"As the First Princess of Whirlpool, the princess is also otherwise known as a War Princess," he explained. "In Whirlpool, we have a custom in which we give thanks and offerings to our god with a yearly festival in which two warriors will actually engage themselves in combat in the royal stadium. The princess will actually cross blades with the best warrior of the kingdom, usually the captain of the Akatsuki – the personal bodyguard forces of the royal family."

"Now that I come and think of it, I've never actually seen Shiki fight with a blade before," said Itachi thoughtfully.

Sasori nodded. "The princess refrains from using swordplay if at all possible," he said. "It is the one sure way to identify her as Whirlpool's War Princess. The swordsmanship of the royal family of Whirlpool is extremely unique, and also extremely powerful. Anyone who had crossed blades with the royal family of Whirlpool at least once, or had actually seen them in combat, will be able to identify the type of swordsmanship that the princess uses. Only the royal family of Whirlpool could use their sword style."

Itachi nodded slowly, slowly understanding the situation. "Is that the reason why Orochimaru had attacked Whirlpool?" He wanted to know. "Because Whirlpool is so powerful?"

Sasori hesitated for a moment. "Well, it _is_ part of the reason," he said, hesitance in his tone, and Itachi wondered the reason behind it. "If you had seen the princess's memories, then you should know what had happened back then." Itachi nodded. "I will skip over the attack part then. It isn't something that I want to remember." He muttered the last part beneath his breath.

"The reason why Whirlpool was attacked all those years ago isn't because Whirlpool is the most powerful out of the six major kingdoms, though it _is_ part of the reason why. Another part of the reason is because…" Sasori trailed off nervously, glancing at Itachi out of the corner of his eye. "It is because…Orochimaru wants the princess." He said the last part so quickly that Itachi could barely catch it.

The elder Uchiha whirled around to face Sasori so quickly that the redhead was surprised that the Uchiha hadn't gotten whiplash. "…what?"

Sasori gulped inwardly. He knew that it is a bad idea to tell Itachi the other part of the reason behind that attack.

"You see, originally, when the princess's mother was still a princess herself, Orochimaru wanted her hand-in-marriage," he explained. "But the marriage laws of the royal family of Whirlpool differ from all the other kingdoms out there. For one, the members of the royal family could marry whomever they please, as long as said spouse isn't a commoner. It is rather unfortunate, but that is the one rule that not even Whirlpool could bend. In the end, a commoner and royalty can't be together, no matter what. But when Orochimaru had came seeking for the queen's hand-in-marriage then, she was already happily engaged to the king who is the then prince of the destroyed Gale Kingdom."

"Shiki's Mind Guardian did mention something about that." Itachi muttered, and Sasori nodded.

"Please bear in mind that it is in the middle of the war then," said Sasori seriously. "Obviously, the queen, then the princess, turned him down, and so did the king and queen from back then – the princess's grandparents. Of course, when we found out about the bad blood and history between Whirlpool Kingdom and Orochimaru…the reason behind his desire to wed both the queen and then the princess became quite clear to us." He muttered.

"Huh?" Itachi blinked.

Bad blood? History?

Did something happen between Orochimaru and the Whirlpool Kingdom? And now that he actually stopped and think about it, Orochimaru _did _say something about that when he had attacked Konoha.

_Your kingdom destroyed my family! All we wanted is a home to call our own! We didn't do anything! We just wanted to be left in peace! Whirlpool dragged us into a war that we didn't want anything to do with, and you killed my family for that!_

"Then that attack from back then," said Sasori, his hands clenching into fists on his knees. "The queen uses a final technique that is only taught to the heir to the throne of Whirlpool. In other words, the First Princess or Prince of the Whirlpool Kingdom. It is a technique that would seal away the palace of the Whirlpool Kingdom for eternity. And only someone with the blood of the royal family of Whirlpool could unseal it. In this case, the princess herself."

"Has it got something to do with the dragon demon that Shiki's Mind Guardian had told me about?" asked Itachi, and Sasori raised a brow.

"Oh? So he told you about it?" Sasori questioned. He then nodded. "Yes. From what we heard from the queen, any information regarding the dragon demon is only entitled to the knowledge of the royal family of Whirlpool and the Akatsuki – the highest ranked ninjas in the kingdom of Whirlpool. The dragon demon that has been sealed away for generations within the Whirlpool Kingdom lies in the deepest depths of the dungeons of the palace. That is what that sealing technique that the queen uses is for. It can seal the palace away for eternity, but it can't protect the rest of the kingdom. That's why…Whirlpool is currently under Oto's control. We have been trying to find a way to liberate Whirlpool for years, but as we can't let anyone find out about the princess's true identity, there is little that we could do."

"I see." Itachi muttered.

So _that_ is the reason why Shiki had kept her true identity from him for all these years.

Sasori then stood up. "When the princess gets back from her mission, we're going to have a discussion as to what to do about Whirlpool," he said. "We can no longer let the people of Whirlpool suffer like what they did any longer. Eleven years is long enough. It is time to get our country back."

**XXXXXX**

_Void Forest  
Borders of Oto Kingdom_

"There they are!"

"After them!"

"Don't let them get away!"

Namikaze Shiki seriously does not have any idea how things have actually gotten to this.

Her original mission with Isaribi – her old classmate back in the ninja Academy, is to scout the borders of the Oto Kingdom, as well as to determine the number of guards stationed at each outpost, before reporting back. This is just merely a scouting and intelligence mission.

But as luck would have it, before they could even get near the nearest shinobi outpost, they were suddenly set upon by troops upon troops of Oto-nins. It is currently nightfall, and the two have been running for goodness knows how long. And Shiki, for one, found it strange that the Oto-nins even knew that they were coming. It is like someone had tipped them off.

But for now, Shiki decided that she would worry about it once she gets back to the Fire Kingdom.

The redhead is now supporting Isaribi, half-dragging and half-carrying her through the forest that surrounds the borders of Oto Kingdom. The dark haired girl was seriously injured to the point when she is practically losing blood fast from the numerous wounds on her body, and Shiki was worried that Isaribi would just die of blood loss out here before she can actually get a medic to look at her.

If only they could just get through the Void Forest, and get past the borders of Oto Kingdom and enter the Water Kingdom, then the Oto-nins wouldn't dare pursue them any further. Water Kingdom has a neutrality agreement with Oto in which the two kingdoms wouldn't mess with each other, and if any Oto-nin just crossed over their borders without permission, it would be just cause for war.

Shiki breathed heavily as she dragged Isaribi with her, one hand supporting the nearly unconscious girl, with her other hand pressed against the wound on the side of her abdomen where a large patch of blood was slowly growing bigger.

"Come on, Isaribi." Shiki breathed heavily, taking a backward glance.

The lights from the flame torches of the Oto-nins hot on their heels could vaguely be seen. It wouldn't be long before the Oto-nins caught up them both. And the trail of blood left behind on the forest bed isn't helping any matters here.

"Just…leave me…" Isaribi breathed out.

"What?"

"I…won't make it." Isaribi cracked one eye opened before smiling weakly at Shiki. "Go…Shiki!"

Shiki shook her head. "We're _both _leaving this place!" she said firmly. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

A faint whistling sound reaches Shiki's ears just then, and before she could even do anything, she felt Isaribi gave her a hard shove before she was sent sprawling to the ground a few meters away. And as she landed hard onto the ground, she heard the sound of something metal impacting with flesh, and the already strong smell of blood grew stronger.

Shiki's eyes widened as she prayed hard that that it isn't what she had imagined things to be, and she turned around.

Isaribi was barely standing in front of her, and several kunais and shurikens were embedded into her skin, with trails of blood leaking from the corners of her lips.

Shiki's eyes widened in horror.

"Isaribi…"

Isaribi managed a weak smile. "Live…on…"

The life then faded from her eyes, and she collapsed to the ground.

Shiki's eyes were wide with shock as she saw Isaribi die in front of her.

Sure, she's a ninja, one of the highest ranked ones in Fire Kingdom. She actually sees ninjas under her command die nearly every day, but this is different. This is the first time that she actually saw someone whom she actually knew – someone whom she had gone through her Academy years with, die.

"Isaribi…"

From within the trees, Shiki saw two troops of Oto-nins emerge. She tried to get up to run, or to at least fight them off, but the wound in her side is getting worse, and she winced as she pressed onto her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

It's no good.

She can barely defend herself at this rate.

"This is the end of the line for you!" The leader of the Oto-nins snarled. "Die!"

A barrage of kunais and shurikens were then let loose, flying straight at her.

Shiki screwed her eyes shut tightly, waiting to feel the pain that she is certain that she would feel in a matter of moments. But to her surprise, she never felt anything. And when Shiki opened her eyes again, she saw a sight that she thought she would never see.

A lone figure dressed in black was standing in between her and the Oto-nins, and the kunais and shurikens were all embedded in his body. For a long time, no one spoke before Shiki's saviour turned his head to face her, and Shiki's eyes widened as she recognised him immediately.

"Sai…?"

Sai grinned weakly at her before turning back towards the stunned group of Oto-nins, trails of blood leaking from the corners of his lips, his left hand removing the kunai stuck in his right arm.

"Is that all that you've got?" he asked in a low voice. "If so, then allow me to return that welcome gesture with one of my own!"

Sai then withdrew a scroll from his back pocket, unrolling it quickly, and the ink figurines drawn on it sprang out from the paper and came to life almost immediately, attacking the Oto-nins, and tearing them to pieces.

Terrified screams echoed around the forest, and within a matter of moments, it was over.

Sai crumbled to the ground as the screams faded away, and his ink animals were dissolved into ink almost instantly. "This…is the end…" He managed to choke out, blood trailing from the ends of his lips.

Shiki managed to drag herself over to Sai, brushing his dark locks off of his forehead.

"Sai…" Shiki muttered.

Sai managed a weak grin, the light in his eyes fading slowly. "You remembered…" he muttered. "But…it is over now. This is the end."

"Why?" Shiki wanted to know. "Why did you sacrifice yourself just to save me? You…"

"Because I wanted to." Sai replied. "Because this is my duty. The duty that I had taken when the king had taken me in when I was only a baby, and had raised me to be your bodyguard. But it is all over now. At least I know that I can now go without killing anymore innocents." He coughed. "This…is the end."

"Sai…"

"From the start, I knew that I can never be with you. You're the princess of Whirlpool Kingdom, and I am just some lowly ninja of Whirlpool. A commoner and royalty being together is strictly forbiddenand frowned upon." He breathed out. "But everything that I've done up till now…is all because I love you. I joined Oto because I know that it is the only way to protect you."

Sai grabbed Shiki's hand, finding it extremely difficult to breathe.

"Listen, Princess. For the sake of our people, and for the sake of Whirlpool…you must liberate our kingdom from the likes of Orochimaru! The people of Whirlpool are still fighting against Orochimaru's efforts to make Whirlpool more like Oto. But it can't last for long. Free them from his clutches. You're the princess. You're the only one who can take the throne of Whirlpool and lead the kingdom!"

"I will."

Sai smiled weakly. "That's…good." He managed to breathe out. His hand fell back onto the forest bed with a light thud just then. "I want to go home." He coughed. "I…could really go for one of those apples…"

And his eyes then slid shut.

Shiki has no idea how long she sat there, staring at Sai's face, willing for him to wake up. Even when the raindrops had started pelting down, she didn't move from her spot.

But Sai didn't move either.

He never opened his eyes again.

Shiki then remembered a conversation that the two of them had a long time ago when they were but small children.

_If I should ever die in the near future, I want to be buried at a place where you can see the ice flowers in Whirlpool Kingdom, and also the Dumb Apple trees. I want to be buried at the base of that tree in the Ice Meadow._

Shiki closed her eyes before getting to her feet slowly, draping one of Sai's arms around her shoulders and turning to leave the forest.

"I'm taking you home, Sai." Shiki muttered. "To the place where you wanted to be when you crossed the gate to the Netherworld. At the Ice Meadow at the borders of the Whirlpool Kingdom…" Her lips trembled with emotion. "…under the Apple Tree."

**

* * *

**It was nearly a week later when Shiki finally stumbled through the gates of Fire Kingdom, much to the relief of the guard standing guard at the gates. Her injuries were quickly seen to at the hospital by Shizune, before Tsunade actually got the report from Shiki, and she is then dismissed, with Isaribi being given a hero's burial.

No one had seen Shiki after that, though Itachi knew where to find her as he headed towards the lake where he knew Shiki frequented as well.

And there she was, sitting at the edge of the lake, watching the sun sink down into the waters of the lake.

"I heard from the queen what had happened," said Itachi simply, getting straight to the point as he sat down beside Shiki. It is never a good thing to beat around the bush with Shiki. "So it's true then? An Oto-nin saved you?"

Shiki managed a small nod. "Yeah. He served in the Ne division of Oto – equivalent to the Royal Guard of Fire Kingdom. He was…" Her lips trembled slightly. "He was once a member of Whirlpool."

Itachi's eyes widened. "Whirlpool?"

Shiki nodded. "Yeah. Honestly speaking, it has been so long that I've nearly forgotten about him as well. He doesn't really stand out much. Back in Whirlpool, he was an apprentice of Nagato, the captain of the Royal Guard of Whirlpool – the Akatsuki."

Shiki skipped a stone across the waters of the lake, watching it skip six times before it sunk.

"My memory is kind of fuzzy now, as it has been nearly ten years since I've last seen him. The only thing that I remember about Sai was that he was always drawing. He followed me everywhere I go. The only time when he ever left me alone is when he's training, or when I'm asleep, or in the bathroom. The children of the members of the Chieftain Council – my father's advisors, had a nickname for him. They call him the 'Ink Boy'. Because he always uses ink to draw."

Itachi watched Shiki closely. He knew her well, and knew what she is probably thinking right now. "It isn't your fault, you know," he said simply. "It wasn't your fault that he had died or Isaribi had died."

Shiki sighed. "Tell that to Isaribi's younger brother," she said.

Itachi sighed. The boy who is just entering the ninja Academy had literally gone into hysterics when he had gotten news of his sister's death.

"You know that that is the truth," said Itachi firmly. "And it most definitely wasn't your fault when Yahiko-san had died!"

Shiki stiffened before turning to face Itachi. "You knew?"

Itachi nodded. "Haku and Gaara told me when you came to Wind Kingdom all those months ago to escort the prince back to the Fire."

"I see," said Shiki. "People tend to have a habit of dying around me all the time. Whirlpool has another meaning behind its name." Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Death. Death surrounds Whirlpool. A never ending cycle."

Shiki skipped another stone across the lake, recalling what Konan had told her at one time.

_People die in missions and wars. They die in surprisingly simple ways._


	20. Time's Arm

I'm back! And sorry for the late update! As usual, I have writer's block, and not to mention that I had been busy job hunting. This will be a pretty short chapter, as this is like the prologue before the main thing happens the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: Time's Arm  
**

_Torture and Interrogation Headquarters  
Fire Kingdom_

Shiki, Gaara and Haku all waited silently without a sound outside interrogation room five of the T&I headquarters of Fire Kingdom as the metal door swung opened, and a green-haired medic from the T&I department exited from the room, cleaning her bloodied hands on a rag that she had with her. Just before the door swung shut behind her, however, Shiki could distinctly see Ino hovering over the unfortunate fellow that had just been through a series of torture and interrogation techniques.

The unfortunate fellow had been a shinobi from the Sound Kingdom that one of their patrol teams was fortunate enough to capture when said fellow was lurking around the borders of Fire Kingdom. As their two kingdoms weren't on friendly terms with each other, and given their bad history with each other, the captured Oto shinobi was taken straight back to the capital city of Konoha as a prisoner, and Ino, the apprentice of the head of the T&I department, had immediately set to work on the guy, with a medic to assist her in case the guy fainted or something.

"How is it?" asked Gaara quietly, directing this question to the medic that had just stepped out of the room.

All three of them knew the medic as 'Yuri', as most of the medics who have served in the T&I department tend to keep their identities as part of the T&I quiet, not that it is really surprising, seeing as how all those who have served in said department tends to get plenty of insight into the secrets and going-ons in Fire Kingdom itself, and their shinobi forces.

"Ino-san would be out soon to give you the report," said Yuri. "Please excuse me." She inclined her head towards the three before walking away, and soon disappeared from sight.

Shiki didn't take her eyes off of the back of the medic until she had disappeared. She has no idea why, but she simply doesn't trust the girl. It is simply a gut feeling that she had ever since she had met the medic when she had first been appointed as the captain of the shinobi forces in Fire Kingdom. And if it is one thing that all shinobis knew, it is to trust their gut feeling, as it had saved their hides more than once during their shinobi career.

"…Haku." Shiki spoke, and the ice user turned towards her best friend with surprise, slightly taken aback by that dangerous look in Shiki's eyes. "Keep an eye on her." The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly. "She has menacing eyes."

Haku nodded simply. She knew better than to doubt Shiki's judgment, as the redhead is a good judge of character, and she hasn't been wrong yet. If Shiki thinks that there is something up with that medic from earlier, then there is probably some truth in it.

"I understand."

The metal door swung opened again just then, and Ino stepped out, looking extremely tired and exhausted with dark bags beneath her eyes, also cleaning her bloodied hands on a damp rag. The blonde had been working on the guy for almost an entire night without any rest or sleep, and it is bound to take a toll on her, as interrogation isn't as easy like what everyone else thinks.

It is extremely taxing on the interrogator, both mentally and physically. That is simply one of the reasons why most people never liked to serve long in the T&I department. Most only served in the department for five years before leaving for other divisions. But those that stay for longer than expected usually made it to the top ranks of the T&I department.

"Ino." Shiki nodded to her friend, a gesture copied by Haku and Gaara, and the blonde in question glanced at the three before sighing.

"Follow me." Ino stated, tilting her head in a gesture to follow her. "I'll get some of the guys to dispose of the body later."

Ino then led the three to her office which is pretty empty save for a desk that is nearly buried with mountains of paperwork, a metal cabinet, a black couch in a corner, and two visitor chairs in front of the desk. Haku, Gaara and Shiki almost sweat dropped when they saw the 'mountains' of paperwork on Ino's desk.

Paperwork is the bane of their existences.

Sure, it is nice and all moving up the ninja ranks, but the additional responsibility also comes with additional paperwork.

"I've gotten some information from the Oto shinobi that the patrol team had captured two nights ago," said Ino, clearing some of the paperwork from her desk before picking up a blank piece of paper. She then rummaged about in her drawer before pulling out a pen and scribbling on the paper. "Most of the information that I've managed to get out of the guy is what we've already known, and I'm not too surprised at that, seeing as how the Oto-nin is one of the lower ranked ninjas in the Sound Kingdom."

Haku frowned. "He doesn't know anything worthwhile then?" she questioned.

"I didn't say that," said Ino, looking up over the paper. "He gave out two vital pieces of information."

Shiki frowned. "Like?"

"The first is one of major priority," said Ino darkly, looking at the three. "Apparently, there's a rat among us." Haku and Gaara growled, and Shiki translated that as 'there is a spy among us'. "If that is so, then that probably explains a lot of things. Like the time when Oto had attacked us, and how they had penetrated through our defences so easily."

Haku frowned. "Wait a moment. It doesn't make sense," she said. "The only shinobis in Fire Kingdom who knew the formation of our defences and our defence routine are…" Her eyes widened. "It can't be!"

Ino sighed tiredly. "Yeah. Shinobis who served in the T&I department as well as the Royal Guard," she stated. "These two departments are the only divisions in all of Fire Kingdom that would know the exact defence formation and the routine for emergencies in the kingdom."

"I'll get Shikamaru to see to the Royal Guard," said Shiki tiredly, rubbing her temples together. "Geez… As if we didn't have enough to do. We now have to worry about a traitor within our ranks."

"I'll see to the T&I," said Ino with a sigh. "That's my department after all."

"What's the second piece of information?"

"Well, after the last attack had failed, Oto is planning on a comeback," said Ino with a sigh. "Those guys never give up, do they? But they're changing their strategy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," said Ino uneasily. "I'm not sure if it is a confirmed piece of information or not, but you guys knew that the kingdom of Whirlpool had fallen into the hands of Oto approximately eleven years ago, do you not?" All three nodded. "But thanks to the barrier that the late queen of Whirlpool had set up, the capital city of Whirlpool, alongside the palace, isn't accessible any longer unless a member of the Whirlpool's royal family removes the barrier. But still, the mighty cavalry and army of the Whirlpool Kingdom, along with their population, are currently under the control of Oto. And apparently, they plan to use the cavalry of Whirlpool to attack us."

Silence.

Shiki was the one to speak up first, and it might have been the imaginations of the other three, but they could detect a hint of anger in her voice. "Whirlpool would never assist Oto," she stated. "Not when their home has been taken over by Oto. If it's me, I would rather choose death."

"I don't think that they have much of a choice here, Shiki," said Ino softly. At Shiki's look, the blonde proceeded to explain. "It is only mere rumours that the Oto-nin had heard, but apparently, Orochimaru had told the people of Whirlpool that he had found their missing princess—" Shiki's heart almost stopped at that. "—and that if they do not cooperate, he'll kill their princess. I have no idea if Orochimaru really knew where their princess is, but if he doesn't, then he's only using empty threats to control Whirlpool. That kingdom has been fighting against him and Oto for nearly a decade. The only thing that keeps them going and fighting is the mere fact alone that they still hang onto that one glimmer of hope that their princess is still out there alive, and that she would return to rule them again one day."

"That's playing dirty!" said Haku angrily.

Shiki almost groaned. Why the hell must that damnable snake drag Whirlpool into this?

"Alright, our topmost priority is to find that spy of that Orochimaru," said Shiki tiredly. "Ino, I'm leaving the T&I to you." Ino nodded. "Haku, find Shikamaru, and assist him to investigate all of the Royal Guard. Tell him that I give him unrestricted permission to do so."

Nearly all those present winced at that statement.

Unrestricted permission meant ways and methods, along with unrestricted interrogation for those falling under suspicion. It might sound cruel, but it is also the quickest and most effective way to find a traitor hiding within the two topmost departments in the kingdom that are responsible for the security and guard of the kingdom.

"Gaara, you come with me. I'm going to see the king and queen about this," said Shiki tiredly, getting to her feet.

**XXXXXX**

_Audience Chamber  
Fire Palace_

"I see," said Tsunade with a frown, pondering over what Shiki had just told her. "So that is what Ino had gotten out from that Oto-nin?"

Currently, Shiki is standing about ten steps away from the king and queen, both who were as usual, seated on their thrones. Or at least, the queen is, whilst the king is merely standing beside his wife. Gaara who had come with Shiki was leaning against the wall next to the doors that led to the audience chamber.

"Yes," said Shiki with a nod. "I've set Haku and Shikamaru to investigate the Royal Guard thoroughly whilst Ino is doing the T&I. We should be able to know who the traitor is soon enough. But the thing of utmost importance now is…"

"Yeah, I know," said Tsunade with a sigh. "The Whirlpool Kingdom. We haven't been able to do anything about them, as we are bound by the laws of neutrality regarding that kingdom, and not to mention that there is a long history of bad blood between the Fire Kingdom and the Sound Kingdom."

Shiki was silent.

As Whirlpool Kingdom is the first royal kingdom in existence, there are special laws and rules protecting that kingdom. One of those rules is that no kingdom is allowed to enter the lands of the Whirlpool Kingdom unless they had prior permission from the rulers of the Whirlpool Kingdom. It doesn't even matter if the kingdom is currently under the control of an enemy, that is the law. No one can break it.

As of now, the only ones who could enter the lands of the Whirlpool Kingdom are Shiki and the Akatsuki as they _are _citizens of Whirlpool Kingdom, but they do not have the power to liberate their home from the rule of Oto just yet. And it is still too soon for her friends to know of her identity as the princess of Whirlpool. And now that she think about it, why didn't Orochimaru let slip about her identity? What is that snake planning now?

"But as it is, we definitely can't leave Whirlpool Kingdom alone as well, now that things have come to this extent when Orochimaru is actually planning to use the cavalry of Whirlpool," said Jiraiya grimly. "We stand no chance against the cavalry might of Whirlpool Kingdom. There is a reason why that kingdom gained the name of 'Kingdom of the Blade'. Assuming if the cavalry of Whirlpool ever caved into Orochimaru's threats, and I won't be surprised if they did, considering the fact that they loved their princess so much, we won't be facing just their ninjas alone. We'll be facing their priests, priestesses, mages, arch mages, and even their archers!"

The doors of the audience chamber swung opened just then, and all four in the audience chamber turned around only to see the queen's two advisors – Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

Shiki narrowed her eyes when she saw them.

Seriously, what is there to like about those two dried up prunes? They basically went against every single one of the king and queen's policies, that if it wasn't for the backing of Shiki, Iruka and Shizune, the king and queen wouldn't have been able to get those new policies sent through at all.

"This is a closed session, councilmen," said Jiraiya sharply when he saw the two.

"We've heard about the Whirlpool Kingdom," said Homura, walking towards the king and queen with his fellow advisor with him. But the two have more than enough sense to stop in their tracks when Shiki put herself in their path, and slid half of her sword out of its sheathe on her back, a warning look on her face.

Advisors or not, no ninja in Fire Kingdom would allow anyone to get near the rulers of Fire Kingdom, not even people of their own kingdom. And if Shiki feels that those two poses enough danger to the king and queen, she is quite well within her rights as the captain of Fire Kingdom's shinobi forces to take their lives right here and now. And from behind the two advisors, Gaara blocked the way to the exit of the audience chamber, one hand on the hilt of his sword as well.

"Tsunade, get your men to stand down." Koharu demanded, missing the brief flash of loathing in Shiki's eyes.

"That is 'Your Majesty' to you," said Gaara sharply from behind them. "Treat the queen and king with the proper respect, and address them with their respective titles! And as advisors, you both have a lot of guts, demanding the queen to abide by your demands."

"How dare you? I demand you to give me respect!"

"I don't have to show you shit," said Gaara, a growl in his voice. "I am a ninja of Fire Kingdom, and my place and allegiance is to my kingdom and my queen and king alone, _not _to some lowly advisors of the kingdom that only does more harm than good to the kingdom itself!"

"How dare you—"

"Your Majesties." Shiki interrupted, suddenly feeling very tired of the presences of the two advisors in front of her. "Should I throw them out or kill them?"

Tsunade sighed. "Not this time, Shiki," she said. "While it would be easier for you to do the latter, the paperwork that comes with it would be too troublesome to deal with."

Jiraiya chuckled at his wife's words. "My dear, you have been around Shikamaru for too long."

Koharu took a step back in fear at the dangerous look in Shiki's eyes. "Y-You wouldn't dare—"

"Just hurry up and say what you came to say!" Shiki snapped, losing her temper and patience with the two advisors in front of her. "I would rather not breathe the same air that you breathe any longer than necessary!"

"We've heard about Orochimaru and the Whirlpool Kingdom," said Homura, grabbing Koharu's arm to prevent her from saying something that might cause Shiki to take her head off.

"How did you find out about that?" Jiraiya demanded. "Only the third-in-command of the T&I, Shiki here, as well as her two teammates knew about that!"

Shiki narrowed her eyes. There is one other who knew what Ino had found out from the prisoner. But it can't be…

The redhead glanced at Gaara before the latter nodded and stepped out of the audience chamber silently without anyone else noticing, an assignment given with only a few moments. Jiraiya noticed this silent exchange and said nothing. As captain of the shinobi forces of Fire Kingdom, Shiki is the overall commander of their entire shinobi forces, and she could assign shinobis to specific assignments if she so wished it. The only other who outranks her is the king and queen of the Fire Kingdom.

"We have our ways," said Homura. "But the point is that we can't allow Orochimaru or the Whirlpool Kingdom to invade us again when we were just recovering from the last attack, and we've also lost a fair number of our forces during that invasion."

"I'll do something about the matter of the Whirlpool Kingdom," said Tsunade defensively. "I don't believe that they will cave into Orochimaru's demands, but I have no wish for Whirlpool to bring war to our doorstep just by the fact that we've overstepped our boundaries, as we are still bound by the laws of neutrality regarding Whirlpool."

"That isn't good enough," said Homura with a shake of his head. "Everyone in the elemental kingdoms knew how powerful that kingdom is. Despite losing their rulers, they haven't lost their power yet, something which we are certain of, seeing as how they have been fighting against Orochimaru and the Sound Kingdom for almost a decade. We should do something about the situation."

"What do you mean by that?" Tsunade demanded, not liking that tone of voice.

And judging from the expression on Shiki's face, she doesn't like it as well. For now, apart from the king and queen and Itachi, no one else in the Fire Kingdom knew about Shiki's identity as the princess of Whirlpool just yet, and the redhead intend to keep it that way.

"That we should do something about them." Koharu stated.

Jiraiya barely suppressed a growl. "If we do that, every kingdom in the world will be calling for our heads!" he growled. "Whirlpool Kingdom still holds a considerable amount of influence and authority in the elemental kingdoms, particularly with Demon Kingdom."

"So does Fire Kingdom." Homura shot back. "Think about it. We barely beat back Oto during the last invasion. If Orochimaru launches another attack on us once more, but this time with Whirlpool's cavalry among his forces, Fire Kingdom will be wiped out of existence. Before that happens, we should do something about Whirlpool."

Shiki's eyes flashed dangerously before she sheathed her sword back with a loud click and walked past the two advisors, ignoring the four pairs of eyes currently boring into the back of her head. Just before she opened the doors of the audience chamber however, she stopped in her tracks.

"I have heard enough," she stated. "I mean no disrespect when I say this. But if Fire Kingdom does anything to the Whirlpool Kingdom at all, no matter even if it is just a few shinobis sent into Whirlpool to assassinate their people or even to just scout their lands. If you ever do anything that might harm Whirlpool at all…" She turned her head to look straight into the eyes of the two advisors, her eyes steely and cold. "Consider my allegiance to Fire Kingdom void."

* * *

_**Upcoming Stories:**_

_**My Other Half (Naruto)**_

_FemNaru. All twins are like one single entity. On the night of the Kyuubi attack, Uchiha Madara took one Namikaze Sayo away with him to Akatsuki where she is trained to be one of their members. Now, nearly fifteen years later, both Namikaze twins met each other for the first time, and can Sayo bring herself to bring her twin to instant death when Akatsuki and the Leaf-nins faced each other in battle?_

_**Silent Symphony (Harry Potter)**_

_FemHarry. When Rowena Ravenclaw witnessed for herself just how the wizarding world was led to doom because of the actions of one Albus Dumbledore which lead to the birth of Lord Voldemort, she forced herself through a cycle of reincarnation and became Hilda Potter. Watch out, world. Rowena Ravenclaw is back. And she isn't happy. Cedric/FemHarry_

_**Hilda Evans Snape (Harry Potter)**_

_FemHarry. Hilda Potter never went to the Dursleys at all. Lily Potter had made it quite clear in her will that if anything were to happen to her and her husband, one Severus Snape is to be given custody of her. With use of a blood adoption ritual, Severus Snape soon became the father of Hilda Potter, and soon became known as Hilda Evans Snape. Hilda is two years older than canon. Charlie/FemHarry_

_**I Fall For You (Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru)**_

_What if Yuki is reborn as a girl in this life? And what if she is much more quiet and soft-spoken than expected? After a trauma that sealed her voice shut, she gains unexpected help in the form of Zweilt Guardians, and will she open her heart to a certain Opast? Luka/Yuki_

_**My Little Angel (07-Ghost)**_

_FemTeito. Verloren's angel was slain by the 7 Ghosts when the daughter of the King of Heaven wanted the angel out of the way. Mad with grief, Verloren slain Eve, and both master and angel were then banished to Earth for eternal reincarnation until the end of time. Now 1000 years later, both master and angel met each other again…in the Barsburg Military Academy._

_**Three's a Crowd! (Kaichou wa Maid-sama)**_

_Who would have thought that the Student Council President of Miyabigaoka and the Demon President of Seika High were once friends? No one in Seika High expected that, least of all Usui Takumi. And thus, the poor guy soon started feeling very jealous when Igarashi Tora soon making advances on Misaki. Usui/Misaki. One-sided Igarashi/Misaki_


	21. Dreams and Pride

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Out-of-character-ness.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One: Dreams and Pride**

The Akatsuki were not pleased about this when they've heard the full story from their princess when she had stormed into the house that all of Akatsuki shared together, obviously in a pissed off mood after her brief meeting with the king and queen, along with the not-so brief meeting with the two dried up prunes that called themselves the royal couple's advisors.

"The _nerve _of them!" Deidara exploded, and Tobi immediately took refugee behind Kisame to avoid being in the line-of-sight when that living ticking time bomb went off. "Just give me the word, Hime-sama, and I'll kill those two dried up prunes for advisors!"

Konan sighed. "Just forget about it, Deidara," she said. "It's no good stirring things up any further." She then glanced at Shiki who was leaning over her knees, her elbows resting on her knees, with her fingers laced together before her mouth, a frown on her face. "What should we do, Hime-sama? It is true that we can't allow Orochimaru to do this, but I have no wish to fight against our fellow countrymen as well."

"I can't allow Whirlpool to fall into the hands of that man or even fall any further in his trap any longer," said Shiki with a sigh. "And I can't allow them to suffer any longer under the hands of that man."

All of Akatsuki perked up at that. "Hime-sama, you mean…?" Sasori trailed off, and Shiki sighed, and nodded.

"But I won't allow any of you to rush off to your deaths when we know _nothing _about the current situation at Whirlpool either," said Shiki with a frown, her tactical mind in full power-on mode. "I hadn't been back there for nearly eleven years after all. Things can change. We need a brief understanding of the current situation there, and not to mention that we can't liberate Whirlpool with just the bare minimum number of Uzu-nins that we have now." The redhead glanced at the Akatsuki. "Even if you guys are the Royal Guard of the Court of Whirlpool, not even you can beat back the insane number of troops that Orochimaru had stationed at Whirlpool, when those same troops had nearly destroyed Fire Kingdom."

"It is true about that," said Zetsu slowly, speaking up at last. The information specialist of the Akatsuki is the most silent of the entire Akatsuki, and rarely spoke up, unless he was asked a question. "But we do have some allies that we can go to for help. Royal kingdoms that have been Whirlpool's allies and friends for generations, as the past royal families of Whirlpool have been their friends and allies for generations." Zetsu glanced at his princess and his comrades and began ticking off points on his fingers. "The now rebuilding Gale Kingdom, the place where the late king, bless his soul, had came from. The king's elder brother is the king there, and Gale Kingdom specialises in air warfare – they attack from the skies. If the king of Gale Kingdom knew that his brother's daughter is still alive, he is sure to help. Whirlpool did help lots with the rebuilding of Gale Kingdom after all."

Konan nodded slowly. "Another place I had in mind is Demon Kingdom," she said. "The late queen and Miroku-sama were best friends. And so are you with Shion-sama, Hime-sama." She added, glancing at Shiki. "Demon Kingdom specialises in holy magic. And they did say that they'll help if you only asked them to."

"The demons would probably help us as well," said Sasori with a frown. "I'm not sure about the vampires of the Dark Forest, but the demons of Craig Blue and Eagle Creek would probably help out. They have always been fond of Whirlpool, as we are the only place that actually accepted them, and we even have some demons living amongst us back then. And anyone with even a sane mind knew that pissing off a demon is the last thing that you'll probably do."

Shiki sighed. "I really don't want to bother them, but I do not have much of a choice here," she said. "I'll go personally to Gale Kingdom. I had never met my uncle, and I do want to see him. I'll write a letter to Shion so that she'll understand the situation, and one of you can deliver that to her. And—"

"Pardon me, Hime-sama." Kisame who hadn't spoken a word spoke up just then, a thoughtful look on his face. "What of Fire Kingdom?"

Everyone stared at him like he had suddenly grown two new heads. "E-Excuse me?"

"Hime, if you are planning to liberate Whirlpool from Orochimaru's rule, you can't keep something like this secret for long, and neither can you hide the fact that you are the First Princess of Whirlpool from your friends." Kisame explained. "Would it not be better to seek Fire Kingdom's assistance in this?"

Everyone was silent at that.

"I do not want to owe Fire Kingdom anymore than what I've already owed them," said Shiki at last. "And there are some people here that I do not fully trust either. But it is true that we will need all the help that we can get." Shiki frowned. "Probably…I'll only let my friends know. I'll let the king and queen do the explaining." She sighed. "I'm in no mood to go through the same explanation twice. And we still have to get a brief understanding of Whirlpool."

"How about if I go and scout the place out?" Deidara chipped in, and everyone stared at him. "Hey, no one would probably pay much attention to the skies, and I can easily get an understanding if I scout from the skies. I would be able to get away faster as well."

"Well, if you're sure…" Shiki muttered.

"Hime-sama, if you would give your permission, I would like to go and search for Nagato," said Konan grimly. Her eyes hardened. "It is time for him to return to us. Whirlpool _will_ be returned to their rightful rulers, as we so swore the day when we were forced to leave."

**XXXXXX**

_Audience Chamber  
__Fire Palace_

"You're joking." Sakura said very firmly. "This…can't be true…"

The faces of her friends reflected what Sakura is feeling as well. Tsunade had summoned all of Shiki's peers to the audience chamber, and had then dropped the biggest bombshell on them with only eleven words: "Namikaze Shiki is the First Princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool."

Jiraiya sighed. "It _is _true, Sakura," he said.

"But why?" Haku asked, struggling to form straight and coherent words together. "Why did you never tell us? And Shiki—"

"No Haku, Shiki knew this right from the start," said Tsunade, cutting her off. "That was the reason why she was even brought to Hope Orphanage. It is to protect her, as no one would dream of looking for the princess of Whirlpool in an orphanage."

"But why tell us now?" asked Neji, feeling faint.

Tsunade sighed. "In ten more days, we are going to war," she stated, and all shinobis present felt their hearts go cold. "As is Gale Kingdom, Demon Kingdom and Wind Kingdom. Three days ago, the princess of Whirlpool sent out emissaries to these three kingdoms, and all of them have agreed to aid her and the Royal Guard of Whirlpool, the Akatsuki—" Gasps came from everyone present sans for Haku, Gaara and Sasuke, as the three have suspected the Akatsuki of being the Whirlpool's Royal Guard the moment Tsunade had dropped the bombshell. "—to liberate their homeland and to return Whirlpool Kingdom to their rightful rulers. In this case, Namikaze Shiki herself, the First Princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool, the Kingdom of Blade."

Jiraiya sighed. "And just a heads-up, but demons are going to be allied with us for this war as well," he said, and the faces of all shinobis present drained of all colour. "I'm sure some of you here have heard rumours of the demons of the land taking a liking to the princess of Whirlpool sometime in the past? Those rumours are true, as Whirlpool Kingdom is the only land in existence that accepts demons as one of them." Jiraiya exchanged looks with his wife before turning back towards his shinobis. "And make no mistake, Shiki is pissed off. When the advisors have stated what they did about Whirlpool, they only succeeded in setting her off." He shook his head. "She has her mother's temper."

Sakura leaned towards Haku and Gaara, with Ino leaning in close as well, as is nearly all of the shinobis present. "Psst! What did the two advisors say to Shiki to set her off like this?" Sakura whispered. "She never loses her temper unless you really piss her off."

Gaara and Haku exchanged looks before both coughed into their hands. "Trust me, you don't want to know." Gaara muttered.

"There is a reason why the Kingdom of Whirlpool is said to be the strongest in all the land," said Tsunade. "I knew the late queen and king of Whirlpool before their demise. For generations, the royal family of Whirlpool had been giving up several things, one after the other, all in the name for duty. And the late royal couple of Whirlpool Kingdom, Shiki's parents, they gave up the most. They gave up their lives, their dreams, they home…and their children. This is all to prevent anyone from unsealing the beast sealed beneath the lands of the Whirlpool Kingdom – in the depths of the palace of Whirlpool itself. It might be unfair, but as it is, these are the sacrifices that a member of the royal family must endure for their country. For the Whirlpool Kingdom, the sealing of the beast and the protections for the seal takes place above anything else. They can't afford to have that beast escaping."

Sasuke frowned. "What beast?"

There was silence for several moments. "The dragon demon – it is said to be the very first demon in existence, and it is from him where all demon races had begun from," said Jiraiya at last. "As such, you can probably say that this dragon demon is the first demon ancestor. And the people of Whirlpool call him 'Madara', the cursed immortal demon. Demons have relatively longer lives than humans, but even they will die. But this Madara…even from during the era of the First War, there are records that he had lived well over ten thousand years – an impossible lifespan for a demon. That's why they call him the immortal demon. Before the royal kingdoms came into existence, the Uzumaki clan who had been the royal family of Whirlpool fought a demon with great power during the time of the First War when humans and demons fought against each other. And this demon is Madara. That is when he had first made his appearance known to humans."

"Clan after clan fell against him, even those with holy powers," said Tsunade, taking up the rear next. "Finally, the Uzumaki clan stepped in. They were remarkably skilled with the blade and with matters of sealing. They lured him to a land lush and full of life and holy power, along with strong elemental forces. That land became what we now know today as the Whirlpool Kingdom. It took the deaths of nearly half the clan before the Uzumaki clan head managed to seal the demon deep within the grounds of the land. But he died after doing so. Following that, Whirlpool Kingdom was then founded, with the palace being built over the spot where the demon was sealed. The Uzumaki clan then became the royal family of Whirlpool, and made it their responsibility to ensure that the demon stays sealed and locked up. As long as there exists one person who had the Uzumaki blood in their veins, the seals will hold. But if there is someone who knew how to break the seal…"

"Is that why the late queen sealed the palace up?" asked Temari, sounding incredibly spooked. "Zabuza-san said something about that."

"Yes." Jiraiya nodded. "Shion, the princess of Demon Kingdom and Shiki were close friends from early childhood. Both their mothers were good friends. Every ten years, a member of the royal family of Demon Kingdom helps to reinforce the seals holding the demon back. If they don't do that, the seal will weaken, and the demon might escape."

"We think that Orochimaru had his eye on this demon, that is why he went after Whirlpool in the first place," said Tsunade wearily. "And if Orochimaru ever succeeded in unsealing the demon, it'll be the end of the world. Madara is made up of pure spirit and negative emotions. Kushina said that he's a nightmare demon. He feeds on the negative emotions and fears of humans. That's why the first Uzumaki of old lured the demon to the lands of Whirlpool. That land is plentiful with spirit power and energy. It isn't impossible to destroy the demon for good. But to do so, someone with the blood of the Uzumaki must transform all that power residing in the lands of the Whirlpool with her own into pure energy. If all of that hits the demon at once, he just might go down. But if they actually do so, they will die."

"But if Shiki dies, the royal line of the Whirlpool Kingdom will come to an end, wouldn't it?" Neji asked grimly. Tsunade and Jiraiya said nothing. "And all her training for the past years… It has been for this moment, isn't it?"

_I will not allow Orochimaru or anyone else to lay their hands on Whirlpool. Not any longer._

**XXXXXX**

"Konan?" Shiki spoke up in surprise as both she and Sasori ran into a rather solemn-looking Konan at the outskirts of Whirlpool Kingdom where they were about to head to the Ice Meadow – one of the personal lands of the king of Whirlpool.

Konan smiled a small smile at them. "I met Nagato," she said softly. "He said that he still needs time to think."

Sasori eyed Konan carefully. "Something happened, right?" he questioned, and Konan said nothing. "What happened?"

Konan said nothing.

_No fair, Konan. No fair… When did you get…so strong? What happened to that girl…the girl that is always making origami and being teased by Yahiko?_

_Nagato…_

_I'm sorry, Konan. I can't protect the princess any longer…_

Konan closed her eyes. _'What in the world are you thinking, Nagato?' _she thought. _'All of us needs you back. __**I **__need you back. More than anything…' _She looked at Shiki. _'The princess needs you back. Can't you see that? Yahiko…' _Konan glanced up at the skies. _'If you were still here… If you are still here…what would you say to Nagato to make him stay?'_

_Ten days. I'll give you ten days, Nagato. Make your decision by then. Fire Kingdom is going to war. We're getting Whirlpool back. And then, Fire, Whirlpool, Demon, Gale and Wind are all going to war against Orochimaru. We need your help. I'll give you ten days. Make your decision by then._

"Are you heading to the shrine, Hime-sama?" asked Konan, and Shiki nodded.

"I'm getting my father's sword back," she said.

The redhead then took a pathway that she had often took as a child in this part of Whirlpool Kingdom, down a winding path before standing in front of a small shrine hidden by the mysterious White Banora trees. Only the king and the First Princess of Whirlpool would know the exact location of this shrine.

With Sasori and Konan behind her, Shiki walked fearlessly towards the shrine and entered it. There, on the altar in the shrine where a sword pedestal was, was a beautiful sword with a black scabbard with curious symbols on it in gold and silver, along with a pure black hilt. Shiki took the sword with her right hand before unsheathing it partially, revealing a pure silver blade, with the blade looking as sharp as it had been when she had last seen it…over ten years ago.

"The royal treasures and heirlooms of Whirlpool Kingdom," said Sasori softly. "The twin blades – Hiraishin and Hirameki. Hiraishin to be wielded by the First Princess of Whirlpool Kingdom, and the future ruler of the kingdom. And Hirameki to be wielded by the Second."

Shiki looked at the sword in her hand. _'Tou-san… I'll make you proud,' _she thought. _'No more running away. I'm getting Whirlpool back! I'll get my twin back as well!' _She sheathed the sword back with a loud click before letting it hang in the holster on her back. Shiki then dug about in her pocket before drawing out a small blue-green gem with a swirl inscribed on it. She stared at it for several moments. _'Kaa-san… I'll destroy that demon even if I have to die doing so. There have too many deaths. Too many, in fact. Enough is enough.'_

Shiki then turned around to face the two concerned looking Akatsuki.

"Princess?" Sasori questioned.

"Let's go," said Shiki simply, walking past them and out of the shrine. "We have a duty to complete. We're getting Whirlpool back. And then…" She stopped in her tracks, looking up at the skies, shielding her eyes from the sun, her left hand tightening into a fist by her side. "We're going to war."


	22. The Burdened

I am back, people! And sorry for the long wait! Since some people have _literally _been hounding after me for some 'lemon goodness', I hope that this chapter will make you happy before the war actually begins for real.

**Warnings: **AU Universe. Character deaths. Out-of-character-ness.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Two: The Burdened**

If dealing with all the delegations of the different nations that she had gone to for assistance had Namikaze Shiki ready to commit murder, seeing the looks on the faces of her friends in _her _apartment—God only knows just _how _they had even gotten in—had Shiki ready to commit genocide.

Sasori and Konan have both headed back to their own apartment — the one that they've shared with the rest of Akatsuki, upon Shiki's insistence.

The redhead sighed as she closed the door behind her with one foot, a resigned look on her face as she leaned against the door. "I _was _going to tell you guys once I've came back, you know?" she stated wearily. "How did you get in my apartment?"

"One of those Akatsuki guys – I think Tobi or something, had the key," said Haku curtly. "More importantly, why did you never tell us?"

Shiki was silent for several moments as she closed her eyes for several moments before opening them again, looking up to meet with the eyes of her friends. "It isn't really something that I can go about parading," she stated. "You guys are ninjas of Fire Kingdom as well. You _know _of the history concerning the elemental kingdoms, especially Whirlpool Kingdom, the very _first _royal kingdom in existence!"

Shino frowned, unseen beneath his coat. "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Shiki was silent for several moments, staring at a spot by her feet that seemed particularly fascinating to her. "After the…attack by Orochimaru and Oto nearly eleven years ago, it sent the entire elemental kingdoms in an uproar. As the first royal kingdom in existence, Whirlpool has special laws protecting the people and kingdom. No intruder can intrude our borders and lands without us knowing. Unlike most kingdoms, our military might don't only consist of ninjas. We have priests and priestesses too – people who specialise in holy and healing magic. That is why our healing arts are top notch. Arch mages, archers, samurais… You name it."

Shiki sighed. "That is why Whirlpool is said to be at the top of the list when you are talking about military might. Then Orochimaru attacked, and took over Whirlpool. Before she had…died—" Shiki struggled to form her words. "My mother used a forbidden technique to seal the royal palace away so that no one can get to it. Only the blood of someone from the royal family of Whirlpool – the first born of the one who had cast it can unseal it. In this case, me. But the entire world knew of the disappearance of the First Princess of the Kingdom of Blade not long after that, and that Orochimaru and Oto have practically combed the entire world for over a decade just looking for the princess. If I ever came out and revealed my identity as the First Princess of Whirlpool, it is going to mean trouble that the elemental kingdoms hadn't had to deal with for eleven years! The Fourth Great War might even begin at that point. Classic politics really."

However, Temari wasn't happy. "We were your _friends," _she stated loudly. "I understand why you might have to keep your identity secret from those overgrown vultures that call themselves the queen's advisors. But you know that you can trust us with your secret. For goodness sake, Shiki, we have to hear about this from the queen! And the next thing that we know, we're marching straight into a war in five days with the Whirlpool Kingdom at the fore of it all!"

"O-Oi, Temari." Kankuro stammered, trying to calm down his obviously upset sister.

He really couldn't blame her though. Of the five kids who had came from Hope Orphanage, Temari had always been the 'big sister', as she had been older than the rest of them by at least two years. She had always been the one fussing or bossing over them whenever Yahiko isn't around, as the man is just one person, and couldn't possibly monitor the actions of five hyperactive kids all the time.

Finding out Shiki's identity had been a shock to all of them, though it does explain several things. Like why the king and queen have been so concerned and fond of her, and why the Akatsuki rarely lets Shiki out of their sights without at least one of them there with her. The clues were all there; they just didn't manage to see it.

"We're your friends! Don't you trust us?" Temari continued raging, almost as if she had never even heard her brother, and even if she did, she simply ignored him. "Why did you never let us help you?"

"Because I was afraid, all right?" Shiki snapped, effectively stopping Temari's tirade, and everyone stared. The redhead wrapped her arms around her torso. "I was just afraid! Returning to Whirlpool and reclaiming my birthright meant trouble for me that I hadn't had to deal with for eleven years! Being a member of a royal family isn't all daisies and roses. Our entire life is mapped out for us from the moment that we were born!"

Temari, along with everyone else was startled. They have never thought of it that way before, though they should have known it, with the Prince's engagement and all months ago. Konohamaru was just lucky that he and the Wind Princess had mutual liking and respect for each other, and that the royal families on both sides have agreed to have the two children to spend time together with each other to build up affection. Even so, this engagement and marriage isn't something that Konohamaru had willingly gone into in the beginning.

"You people think that you have it bad as ninjas – as the personal military weapons of the king and queen, but you hadn't had to live _our _lives – the life of a member of a royal family!" Shiki rambled on without stopping, actually stepping closer to Temari until the blonde could almost smell the redhead's breath. "I _am _a ninja myself, that is why I can say that I understand both sides. The ninjas think that they have it bad – having to go out in battle on the whims of a few people and possibly losing their lives in the process, but they never had to live the lives of the royal family. You always had a choice in your life; who you will marry, how you will grow up, how to teach any future children that you have… You had a choice. We don't."

"Whirlpool's royal family is considerably more lenient about our military's lifestyles and the royal family's choice of spouses, but even so, that is still one aspect about the royal family that is the same as everywhere else! You can ask Konohamaru if you do not believe me! He will tell you the same thing. The king and queen will tell you the same thing; even they didn't get to choose to marry each other. Like nearly all rulers of the elemental kingdoms, their marriage is a political and an arranged one. I just want to live as a normal person. That is all that I ever wanted. But I am unlucky enough to be born as the First Princess of Whirlpool, the War Princess of the Kingdom of Blade, and I must do my duty. Besides, if it wasn't for me, then Yahiko might never have died."

Gaara and Haku exchanged looks between themselves. In truth, Yahiko's death had been at the back of the minds of all those that have came from Hope Orphanage after the revelation about Shiki had been revealed. They can't help but wonder after that if that is the reason why Shiki had been so secretive and moody after their caretaker's death.

Surprisingly, the one who spoke next was Shikamaru who normally found it 'too troublesome' to enter conversations (or arguments) like this. "You and I both know that that is utter bull, Shiki." The head strategist of Fire Kingdom said firmly. "Even if you had never been there, Oto would have attacked the orphanage anyway. You know that's their style. You've been to several of the sites of their handiwork in the past." Everyone was nodding their agreement. "You were there at one too; the attack on the Uchiha clan back in Wind Kingdom."

Shiki sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Maybe," she said tiredly. "Look, I'm really tired now. I had been travelling for five days without any rest, and I just have to subject myself to an interrogation by you people. Thus, I would _deeply _appreciate it if you guys can leave now."

Kiba raised his hands up mockingly. "Fine, we know when we're not wanted," he teased. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

It didn't seem to take her friends long as they left the apartment, with the door closing shut behind the last one. Shiki then raised an eyebrow as she stared at Itachi who is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"When I say that I want to rest, I meant it, you know?" Shiki sighed as she made her way to the kitchen, with Itachi following her. "I've been on the go for five days without rest. I had to stop at the borders of Whirlpool to pick up my father's sword, send Deidara into Whirlpool itself to survey the situation, then make another trip to Gale Kingdom – my father's homeland to recruit another ally. I'm _tired, _Itachi! And I have no wish to listen to you go on and on about another one of your 'I told you so's."

Itachi opened his mouth, about to tell her that that is not what he is here for when the first part of her sentence shut his mouth, and he blinked owlishly. "Your father's sword?" he echoed.

Shiki pulled at the holster hanging on her back, removing a beautiful sword from within it that Itachi had never seen before in his entire life. It is a beautiful sword; one that simply takes his breath away. It had a black scabbard with curious symbols inscribed on it in gold and silver that Itachi assumed were some sort of runic symbols, and it also had a pure black hilt.

"The royal treasures and heirlooms of Whirlpool Kingdom," said Shiki softly. "This sword is only one of a pair. Hiraishin is to be wielded by the First Princess of Whirlpool – the heir to the royal throne; whilst Hirameki is to be wielded by the Second Heir. No matter the gender of the first born, the First Heir of the royal family of Whirlpool is by birthright, the rightful ruler of Whirlpool. If there is a Second Heir, he or she would take the position of the commander of our military force. That is the custom of Whirlpool Kingdom."

Itachi was silent for several moments. "Word's already spreading on the streets, Shiki," he informed his lover. "The ninjas have been itching for an excuse to just declare war on Oto for _years,_ and with the last invasion on Fire Kingdom months ago, they're all at breaking point. Now with this revelation, they don't need any further reason to hold back any longer, seeing as how you are pretty influential among the ninja ranks. Wind Kingdom isn't pleased as well. The king of Wind Kingdom sent an envoy here three days ago, informing the king and queen that Wind will partake in this war as well, since he had almost lost his daughter to that snake."

Shiki smiled an amused smile as she sipped from her cup of lavender tea that she had brewed for herself earlier. "Yeah, I know that the king from Wind Kingdom will agree," she said. "My uncle – my father's brother, the current ruler of Gale Kingdom agreed as well. So did the demons from Eagle Creek and Craig Blue. Shion and Lady Miroku of the Demon Kingdom had agreed as well. So did Lady Koyuki from Spring Kingdom. They're my friends and my nation's allies back when I was Whirlpool's princess." She added as Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Itachi rolled his eyes towards the ceiling in exasperation. "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered.

Shiki giggled before she was taken aback as she felt a pair of lips pressing against her own, and opened her eyes only to see Itachi tenderly kissing her, his hands on her shoulders. She gasped at this sudden action, and as soon as it had begun, Itachi drew back from her, much to her disappointment, as he licked at his lips with his tongue, disturbingly looking quite seductive with that action.

"You taste like lavender." Itachi remarked.

"It's lavender tea." Shiki answered, raising the cup in front of Itachi's face so that he could smell the warm aroma of the tea that is like her drug ever since she had became a ninja. After every mission, she normally drank a cup of that drink to help sooth her nerves.

Itachi smirked. "Oh yeah?" he said as he took the cup from Shiki's hand and placed it on the nearby kitchen counter before pressing his lips against Shiki's again and kissing her again, plunging his tongue into her mouth before Shiki could protest, one hand tangling itself into her hair, tugging her head slightly backwards and exploring the cavern of her mouth with his tongue.

Shiki's eyes fluttered close at this action as she melted into Itachi, trailing her arms up around his neck as she pulled herself slightly upwards to make up for the height differences. Itachi then deepened his kisses as he pushed Shiki back against the kitchen counter so that the small of her back is resting against the edge of it, with the redhead feeling Itachi's powerful hands trailing down her sides as he pulled her closer to his body, bringing both their hips come in close intimate contact.

"Oh Gods…" Itachi grunted as he attacked her neck next, sucking and licking on the tender skin of her throat. "You're as delicious as before."

Shiki didn't say anything as she fiddled with Itachi's ponytail before she gasped as she felt cool wind hit the skin around her waist, and soon felt Itachi pushing the hem of her shirt up her body, caressing her soft skin.

"Itachi…"

Itachi paused in his action of sucking on her right earlobe, his arms still wrapped around the petite waist that is currently in his embrace. "Do you want this?" he asked huskily in that voice of his that always caused shivers up Shiki's spine.

"Y-Yeah." Shiki gasped as she felt a hand slipped into her bra without warning, with a thumb rubbing circles around her nipple.

Itachi smirked at her before he hooked one arm behind her knees and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the single bedroom in the apartment and placed her on the bed, hovering above her with his hands pinning her wrists down.

**{Lemon scene starts here. Don't read if you don't want to! I will not be held responsible for any scarring left behind!}**

"I-Itachi…"

There was the sound of the zipper of Shiki's jacket being unzipped as Itachi yanked the zip down, exposing the shirt that she had been wearing underneath, before his hands started roaming all over her body, exploring every inch of it tenderly. The redhead gasped as Itachi started kneading her breasts through the fabric of her clothes.

"Itachi…" Shiki then gasped as she felt Itachi's hands slipping beneath the hem of her shirt and up her body, kneading her breasts through the fabric of her bra, before slipping his hands beneath her bra and squeezing her breasts gently. Without meaning to, the redhead moaned, and began moving her body slowly in accordance to his actions.

Itachi soon felt a pair of hands trailing up around his waist and pushing the hem of his shirt up, pushing it up as far as it could go. Itachi smirked at the redhead beneath him and pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it to the ground, also fumbling with the rest of his clothing and discarding them as well.

Shiki moaned as Itachi pushed his knee in between her legs, even as the Uchiha started undoing her clothing and discarding it to the ground. Soon, they were both completely naked, touching and kissing each other tenderly. Itachi started attacking her neck and began to suck on it before moving down her body and reaching her breasts. He then licked her left nipple with the tip of his tongue before taking it into his mouth, slowly sucking and nipping on it gently, whilst fondling and caressing her other breast roughly.

Shiki moaned from feeling Itachi's touches and actions to her body, gripping his hair tie and undoing his hair from its usual ponytail. Itachi then moved slowly down her body, kissing and licking gently as he did so before reaching her inner thighs and kissing and caressing them gently.

"Itachi…" Shiki gasped as he inserted one finger into her entrance, even as he moved slowly up her body and captured her lips in a passionate kiss, also slowly increasing the number of fingers as he did so, pumping her slowly, yet still leaving her wanting more. "Oh Gods…" She moaned. "Please…"

Itachi chuckled as he positioned his cock at her entrance, slowly pushing into her. The low moan that he heard pleased him, and he then pulled out of her before pushing in again, continuing at this pace for several moments before Shiki's arms trailed to his upper back.

"Well Princess, I am here to serve." Itachi teased as he felt Shiki pushing her hips into him, kissing her passionately before drawing back.

Without any prior warning, Itachi then thrust himself hard into her, with Shiki letting out a scream of pain as he did so, a sharp searing pain tearing through the redhead's nether regions, with her wrists being pinned down onto the bed by the sides of her head. He then pulled out of her only to thrust back in again, moving faster and harder each time.

Eventually, the pain lessened to a dull ache, and both their breathing evened out as they did so, with the grunts and moans growing in intensity. Itachi pulled out of Shiki again before slamming back into her harshly, causing her to give a startled scream of pleasure.

"Oh Gods…!" Shiki gritted her teeth from the intrusion, wrapping her legs around Itachi's waist so that he could grind in deeper into her. "Itachi… Please…!"

She screamed again as Itachi slammed back into her harshly, with Itachi smirking at that. He then started to quicken his pace, with Shiki starting to move her pace with him unconsciously.

"This feels so good…" Shiki gasped breathlessly even as Itachi slammed into her again and again. "More…"

Itachi then grunted as he quickened his pace, thrusting in and out of her, quickening his pace each time, both of them almost reaching their climax. But at the same time, he wanted more as he grinded in even deeper, as they both climaxed at the same time, when he spilled his semen into the redhead at the same moment when her walls clammed down on him.

**{Lemon Ends}**

"This feels so good…" Shiki sighed, dropping back onto the bed.

"Yeah…" Itachi grunted, kissing her on the lips. He then smirked. "Ready for round two?"

**XXXXXX**

_Audience Chamber  
__Fire Palace_

Itachi and Shiki were in the audience chamber of the palace with Sasori as Shiki's bodyguard for that day when a certain blonde hurricane came scurrying through the double doors of the audience chamber, dragging a disgruntled man with him by the wrist.

Itachi blinked owlishly as the long haired blonde that nearly all of his peers had mistaken as a girl in the beginning was breathing heavily almost like he had just ran a marathon. He was _not _expecting this when the queen had summoned them both for a meeting to update them on Oto's movements.

Shiki frowned upon seeing Deidara. She wasn't expecting him back for at least another day. Had Whirlpool's condition worsened?

After several moments, Deidara caught his breath back and he beamed at Shiki. "Hime! Look who I'd brought with me!" He pulled the man he had been pulling around by the arm, nearly causing the poor man to fall flat on his face.

Shiki blinked several times, recognising the man. "Tazuna-san?"

The man grinned at Shiki. "It's been a long time, Hime-sama," he said, bowing respectfully to Shiki. "And you too, Sasori-sama."

"Who is he?" Itachi asked quietly.

"He's one of the king's chief advisors back in Whirlpool, and also the representative of the civilians." Sasori answered. "He's also the head carpenter there."

"I did some scouting around in Whirlpool to find out more about the current situation there, and I heard rumours of a rising rebel group that had been formed about a decade ago when Whirlpool had fallen to Oto." Deidara explained. He then hesitated as he looked at Shiki carefully. "Hime-sama, Karin-hime is still alive. But…she's joined forces with Orochimaru and Oto."

Shiki paled. "What?"

"Karin?"

"Karin-hime is the princess's younger twin sister, the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Whirlpool." Sasori answered grimly. "They were fraternal twins. At the time of the attack eleven years ago, her bodyguard had been with her, and we thought that he'd gotten out as well, as Mangetsu-san had been one of our best. But it looks like he died protecting her. It is only years later when we found out that Karin-hime is still alive."

"Never mind that!" Deidara interrupted. "Hime-sama, Tazuna-san here had been one of the members of the rebel group that we've been hearing rumours about." He then grinned. "And you'll never guess who is leading the rebel group."

Shiki frowned. "Who?"

"Juugo and Hozuki Suigetsu." Deidara proclaimed, and Shiki's eyes widened. "They're both still alive. Those two are one of the Royal Guard apprentices, much like how Sai was back then." He added for Jiraiya, Tsunade and Itachi's benefit more than theirs. "Suigetsu had been Karin-hime's bodyguard besides his brother, Hozuki Mangetsu."

"We've been hearing rumours of how the Akatsuki had found the princess, and that they're planning on reclaiming back Whirlpool." Tazuna grinned. "I got my grandson Inari to spread rumours about the rebel group, and Deidara-san followed those rumours and went to one of the spots where we've stationed one of our men there just in case the Akatsuki ever came by."

"It wasn't too difficult to infiltrate Whirlpool though." Deidara shrugged. "We probably could have sent just anyone in, as there is hardly any soldiers in there at all – those loyal to Orochimaru. On a lighter note though, Whirlpool hasn't really changed much, sans for that ridiculous white building in the middle of the capital city where the rebels told me that is the headquarters for Orochimaru and his Oto goons. And apparently…Karin-hime is holed up in there as well."

"I see," said Shiki grimly. She then turned towards Tazuna. "Tazuna-san, any hopes of getting you people to help us out as we head to Whirlpool four days from now?"

Tazuna grinned. "We've been waiting for this day, Princess," he said. "We'll help you." The Whirlpool citizens smiled. "I'll head back now and let the others know. Everyone has been looking forward to the day when the princess comes to liberate us all. Our freedom is just within our grasp."

"I'll escort him back." Deidara volunteered. "I'll stay with them too, just in case Orochimaru tried something."

"Tazuna-san, a moment." Shiki called out before the two could leave. "What is Whirlpool's stand on Karin?"

Tazuna said nothing for several moments before he spoke. "Princess, I am sorry to say that Karin-hime had lost the respect of all of Whirlpool," he said. "They now see her as nothing more than a traitor to Whirlpool. Just like Kimimaro-san before her."

"I see." Shiki muttered, closing her eyes before opening them again. "It seems…that I may very well have to take my own sister's life in the end."

Everyone in the chamber exchanged uncomfortable looks.

'_Karin… What have you done? My sister…do I really have to take your life with my own hands in the end?'_


End file.
